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Tag: Hany Babu

Crushing Dissent During India’s Lockdown

Crushing Dissent During India’s Lockdown

Towards Freedom / by Rishabh Jain

“The very thought of him having to plead to jail authorities regarding a basic service like clean water to wash his swelled eye still gives me anxiety attacks,” says Jenny Rowena, wife of Hany Babu.
Babu, a 55-year-old Delhi University professor, is among many political prisoners who have been detained after having been charged under a draconian Indian law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
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Also read/watch: Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution. Three Day consultation by PUCL in January 2021

Hany Babu can be moved to another Mumbai hospital for treatment, rules Bombay HC

Hany Babu can be moved to another Mumbai hospital for treatment, rules Bombay HC

Hany Babu can be moved to another Mumbai hospital for treatment, rules Bombay HC

19/05/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The professor had sought better medical aid as the hospital where he was admitted was not treating his acute eye infection.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed Delhi University Professor Hany Babu to be moved to Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital for treatment, reported Live Law. The professor is an undertrial prisoner in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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“Nothing Wrong If This Becomes A Precedent In Present Times”: Bombay High Court Directs DU Prof Hany Babu To Be Shifted To Breach Candy Hospital By Tomorrow

19/05/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court has directed Delhi University Associate Professor Hany Babu, who is covid -19 positive and suffers from black fungus infection, be shifted to Breach Candy hospital by tomorrow.
Babu was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgaar Parishad case on July 28 2020, by the National Investigation Agency.
A division bench of Justices SJ Kathawalla and SP Tavade observed that the patient deserves to be treated in a hospital of his choice in the current situation when NIA tried to oppose the plea saying it would become a precedent.
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Should the BK16 be left to die? / Crowded Jails & COVID: BK16 Accused’s Kin Share Fears

Should the BK16 be left to die? / Crowded Jails & COVID: BK16 Accused’s Kin Share Fears

Should the Bhima Koregaon 16 be left to die?

17/05/2021

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

Consider this:
In 2019, Father Stan Swamy, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, had to undergo an emergency appendicitis operation because he had insisted on working till the very last day. The doctor wondered how the then 82-year-old Jesuit priest had borne the pain so long.
In the seven months that he has spent in Taloja jail, not once has Father Stan complained, except to ask for a straw and a sipper because Parkinson’s disease doesn’t allow him to have a steady grip on his cup.
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Crowded Jails & COVID: 16 Bhima Koregaon Accused’s Kin Share Fears

17/05/2021

The Quint / by Mekhala Saran

“Please allow us to take care of them,” beseech their family and friends.
“It looks like once you are a prisoner, there is no value for your life,” said Dr Jenny Rowena, a Delhi University professor and wife of Dr Hany Babu, an undertrial prisoner, at a press conference, organised by friends and family of the 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Dr Babu is currently COVID-positive and admitted in Mumbai’s JJ Hospital with an acute eye infection that has affected his vision. Spreading to his cheeks and forehead, the infection has caused his eyes to bulge out.
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Also read/watch video: Bhima Koregaon, COVID-19 and custodial apathy in jails / Video + Press Release (May 15)

Jailed Professor Hany Babu Hospitalised With Eye Infection, Tests Positive for COVID / Sign Petition

Jailed Professor Hany Babu Hospitalised With Eye Infection, Tests Positive for COVID / Sign Petition

Jailed Professor Hany Babu Hospitalised With Eye Infection, Tests Positive for COVID

14/05/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

His family has alleged that they were not informed about Babu’s health condition.
Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu M.T., who was arrested last July in connection with the Elgar Parishad case, has tested positive for COVID-19. He was first admitted to the JJ Hospital in Mumbai and later moved to GT Hospital. Babu, 55, developed an acute eye infection on May 3, since when his family and lawyers have been struggling to ensure that he is given proper medical care.
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Hany Babu hospitalised after testing positive for Covid, contracting eye infection

14/05/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The Delhi University professor’s family has demanded that he be shifted to a multi-specialty hospital.
Delhi University Professor Hany Babu, an undertrial prisoner in the Bhima Koregaon case, has tested positive for coronavirus and is admitted to JJ Hospital in Mumbai, his family said on Thursday.
Babu was earlier diagnosed with an acute eye infection, which his family said, could spread to his brain too. They have now demanded that he be shifted to a multi-specialty hospital where he can be treated for Covid-19 as well his eye.
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Sign Petition: Hany Babu needs urgent medical treatment, release him now: CJP’s plea to Maharashtra CM

12/05/2021

By Citizens for Justice and Peace

The professor, who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, is suffering from acute eye infection that could cost him his vision! But prison authorities appear apathetic to his medical emergency.

Read more/ sign petition

Video: CJP Urges Maharashtra To Release Professor Hany Babu


en | 1:30 min | 2021
Watch video


Also read: Plea for release of the Bhima Koregaon (BK) detainees during COVID-19 pandemic (May 11, 2021)

Hany Babu Tested COVID Positive – Press Release by family members of Hany Babu

Hany Babu Tested COVID Positive – Press Release by family members of Hany Babu

Countercurrents.org / by Jenny Rowena (wife), Fathima (mother), Dr Harish M Tharayil (brother), Dr Ansari M T (brother)

Press Release
May 13, 2021

Hany Babu, an undertrial prisoner in the Bhima Koregaon case, who has been in custody since July 2020 without trial has now been diagnosed as COVID Positive.
Hany had developed an acute eye infection in Taloja Jail. He has little or no vision in his left eye due to the swelling, which has spread to the cheek, ear and forehead compromising other vital organs as well, and posing a significant risk to his life if it spreads to the brain. Due to an acute water shortage in the prison, he does not have access to enough water to even bathe his eye and is forced to dress his eye with soiled towels.
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Petition: Hany Babu needs urgent medical treatment, release him now / Statement by his family

Petition: Hany Babu needs urgent medical treatment, release him now / Statement by his family

By Sukanya Shantha (May 13):
Update: Prof. @hanybabu was hospitalized last night at JJ hospital. His swab sample was collected once again on admission. JJ Dean Dr. Ranjit Mankeshwar has confirmed that Hany Babu has tested positive for COVID-19 this time. He will be shifted either to St. George or GTB hosp +++


Sign Petition: Hany Babu needs urgent medical treatment, release him now: CJP’s plea to Maharashtra CM

12/05/2021

By Citizens for Justice and Peace

The professor, who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, is suffering from acute eye infection that could cost him his vision! But prison authorities appear apathetic to his medical emergency.

Read more/ sign petition

Video: CJP Urges Maharashtra To Release Professor Hany Babu


en | 1:30 min | 2021
Watch video


Begging for something as essential as health services is heart wrenching: Hany Babu’s family

11/05/2021

The Caravan / by Jenny Rowena

Jenny Rowena, Babu’s wife, has released a press statement detailing how Hany Babu’s health has deteriorated after he did not receive proper medical assistance in Taloja Jail. Rowena has requested immediate access to medical assistance for Babu and more transparency from jail authorities. The statement is reproduced below.
Read statement


DU Professor Hany Babu Denied Medical Care After Developing Eye Infection

11/05/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Babu, 55, was arrested on July 28 last year by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and has since been in Taloja central prison.
Delhi University associate professor of English, Hany Babu M.T, arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad case has been complaining of an acute eye infection, pain, and gradual loss of vision since May 3. His family and lawyers have accused the prison authorities of denying immediate medical treatment to him.
… This is not the first time that frantic appeals have been made to the Maharashtra state government for urgent medical help. Other arrested activists and academics like Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Father Stan Swamy, Shoma Sen, Anand Teltumbde, and Varavara Rao have had to make several representations before the government and courts for basic medical treatments.
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Video: Prisoners in a Pandemic – Viral hate and a raging contagion

Video: Prisoners in a Pandemic – Viral hate and a raging contagion

Video: Prisoners in a Pandemic – Viral hate and a raging contagion

11/05/2021

By United Against Hate

hindi + en | 1h40min | 2021

Watch video at United Against Hate fb page here

In the light of Covid-19 outbreak and deteriorating health of civil and human rights defenders in prisons, United Against Hate is organising a conversation addressing the issue, demanding immediate release of political prisoners. The dreadful conditions in overcrowded jails, which lack proper sanitation, hygiene and medical facilities, are conducive to spread of a virus like COVID-19 and have contributed immensely to their deteriorating health condition. Umar Khalid, GN Saibaba, Siddique Kappan, Akhil Gogoi, Jyoti Jagtap, Varvara Rao have already contracted COVID-19 behind bars. Khalid Saifi and Sudha Bhardwaj have also been unwell, as was reported by their families. It must be noted that many of them have comorbidities and have been on medications even before their arrests. It has been long since the arrests of these voices of dissent who fought for democracy, for rights of the people and for freedom from the repressive state. Their only crime is fearlessly speaking the bitter truth to power.


Sign Petition: Covid-19 is a virtual death sentence for political prisoners! Release them now! (CJP, May 2021)


Also read: In India and Around the World, Prisoners’ Rights Violated During Pandemic: Report (The Wire, March 2021)

Victim of State Hunt: Kerala MPs, MLAs, Eminent Persons Urge Hany Babu’s Release

Victim of State Hunt: Kerala MPs, MLAs, Eminent Persons Urge Hany Babu’s Release

Victim of State Hunt: Kerala MPs, MLAs, Eminent Persons Urge Hany Babu’s Release

08/05/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

‘It is a gross human rights violation that even during this alarming situation falsely accused under trials are being tortured by the state.’
Four Kerala MPs, two MLAs and a hundred academic voices, activists and eminent individuals from all walks of life have written an open letter for fellow Keralite Hany Babu, urging among other things, action to ensure that the jailed scholar is released before being exposed to COVID-19.
After raids by the NIA at his house in 2019 and 2020, Hany Babu was arrested on July 28 2020 in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case, after having been called to Mumbai for five days of interrogation.
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Stop hunting intellectuals: Kerala MPs, MLAs and academics demand Hany Babu’s release

07/05/2021

Maktoob / by Maktoob Staff

A group of more than 100 people from Kerala including Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha members, Kerala Assembly members, rights activists and academics have issued a statement expressing their solidarity to Hany Babu M.T, a Keralite and an assistant professor at Delhi University, who has been languishing in Mumbai jail for the past nine months under draconian UAPA in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case.
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An Innocent Hany Babu Has Spent Nine Months in Jail: An Appeal From His Family

An Innocent Hany Babu Has Spent Nine Months in Jail: An Appeal From His Family

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

“Any further delay in commencing the trial would take his personal, academic and intellectual life further away from Hany Babu.”
Hany Babu’s family has issued an appeal for his release from prison, saying that the National Investigation Agency has arrested an innocent man. Even though forensic examinations have found that evidence against the accused persons in the Elgar Parishad case was planted, Babu’s family says, the courts and investigative agencies are not taking corrective steps.
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Books sent by families of Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha returned by jail authorities, again

Books sent by families of Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha returned by jail authorities, again

Books sent by families of Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha returned by jail authorities, again

28/01/2021

India Now / by India Now

A Mumbai court has refused to interfere with the order of Taloja Central Jail officials, refusing to accept a courier with books for Elgar Parishad accused Hany Babu and Gautam Navlakha.
A Special Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai has refused to interfere with the order of Taloja Central Jail officials, refusing to accept a courier with books for Elgar Parishad accused Hany Babu and Gautam Navlakha.
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Jail officials cannot refuse books sent for prisoners, but should check content: Mumbai Court

28/01/2021

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

The observation was made in the detailed order passed by the special court earlier this month allowing lawyer activist Sudha Bharadwaj, arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case, access to five books per month at Byculla women’s jail where she is lodged.
A special court has said that jail authorities cannot refuse to accept books sent for prisoners though they are expected to go through the contents to ensure there is no “objectionable material”.
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