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Frame Up Of Indian Political Prisoners Revealed – New edition of Colors of the Cage

Frame Up Of Indian Political Prisoners Revealed – New edition of Colors of the Cage

By Common Notions

Colors of the Cage: Memoirs of an Indian Prison
by Arun Ferreira
foreword by Naresh Fernandes
introduction by Siddhartha Deb
February 2021

As Common Notions publishes the new edition of Colors of the Cage (2021) by political prisoner and human rights activist Arun Ferreira, news is breaking that makes it abundantly clear that, just like his earlier arrests, his current detention is based on falsehood and political repression …
In May 2007, Arun Ferreira was picked up at a railway station in western India, detained by the court, and condemned to prison for an expanding list of crimes: criminal conspiracy, murder, possession of arms, and rioting, among others added during his detention. In one of the most notorious prisons in India, he was constantly abused and tortured. Over the next several years as he began to write Colors of the Cage, each of the ten cases slapped against him fell apart. At long last, acquitted of all charges, he prepared to reunite with his family.
Ferreira refused to surrender hope and continued to fight for his freedom. He succeeded and walked out of the prison in 2014 and then used his prison experience to become a lawyer for other political activists. In 2018, he was arrested once again in what is shaping up to be a major frame up. His next hearing is February 28th.
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Also watch: Video: Arun Ferreira speaks about Life in an Indian Prison (en | 12:51 min | 2014)

Calls discontinued, only visits for kin of Elgar Parishad accused

Calls discontinued, only visits for kin of Elgar Parishad accused

The Times of India / by Shishir Arya

Kin of two Elgar Parishad accused lodged in Taloja and Byculla jails in Mumbai say the facility to call inmates has been discontinued abruptly from this month. Phone calling that was allowed since July as a post Covid measure came as a small luxury. At times, even video calls could be made. Visits were stopped due to the pandemic.
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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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Fr Stan Swamy: I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many

Fr Stan Swamy: I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many

By Fr Stan Swamy SJ

First of all, I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many during these past 100 days behind the bars. At times, news of such solidarity has given me immense strength and courage especially when the only thing certain in prison is uncertainty.
Life here is on a day-to-day basis. Another strength during these past hundred days, has been in observing the plight of the undertrials. A majority of them come from economically & socially weaker communities. Many of such poor undertrials don’t know what charges have been put on them, have not seen their charge sheet and just remain in prison for years without any legal or other assistance. Overall, almost all undertrials are compelled to live to a bare minimum, whether rich or poor. This brings in a sense of brotherhood & communitarianism where reaching out to each other is possible even in this adversity. On the other hand, we sixteen co-accused have not been able to meet each other, as we are lodged in different jails or different ‘circles’ within the same jail. But we will still sing in chorus. A caged bird can still sing.
Fr. Stan Swamy

Sudha Bharadwaj allowed access to 5 books per month from outside jail

Sudha Bharadwaj allowed access to 5 books per month from outside jail

Sudha Bharadwaj allowed access to 5 books per month from outside jail

14/01/2021

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday allowed access to books from outside the prison, to activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj.
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday allowed access to books from outside the prison, to activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj. The court has, however, asked the prison authorities to check the contents, if they are objectionable, before allowing the same.
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NIA Court Allows Sudha Bharadwaj’s Application Seeking Access To Five Books A Month From Outside

14/01/2021

Live Law / by Nitish Kashyap

The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday allowed access of five books a month to lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj, who is a accused in the caste based violence that took place on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018.
Special Judge DE Kothalikar directed the Superintendent of Byculla District Prison to grant the access of books to Sudha Bharadwaj with the condition that the said books will be examined by him.
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Why is India denying prisoners spectacles and straws?

Why is India denying prisoners spectacles and straws?

BBC News / by Geeta Pandey

Life in prison is expected to be tough.
But in recent weeks, jail authorities in India have been called out for being especially cruel to prisoners, particularly the government’s critics who are described as “human rights defenders” by international rights groups.
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Post unlockdown: Prison population increases to 31,000 in Maharashtra

Post unlockdown: Prison population increases to 31,000 in Maharashtra


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

While at one point during the lockdown, the inmate population had reduced to nearly 24,000 – a little over its official capacity of 23,217 – nearly half of the state’s prisons are overcrowded again, some housing inmates more than double their capacities…
Five of the six prisons are overcrowded. At Taloja jail, which had fewer inmates than its capacity of 2,124 before the lockdown, now has 4,080 inmates. The jail, which has inmates including the 10 male accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, ICICI Bank-Videocon case’s Deepak Kochhar, continues to receive most of the new arrests from four districts.
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India’s 21st-century dungeons – Government is tardy with revealing jail data

India’s 21st-century dungeons – Government is tardy with revealing jail data

UCA News / by John Dayal

A little plastic hollow straw, much like the one you’d get with fresh tender coconut or cold drink at a roadside eatery, has gained much attention not just on the vagaries of the law of the land and its courts, but even more on the conditions in the prisons in India.
It took several weeks for 84-year-old Jesuit Father Stan Swamy–in prison as a mere suspect in a trumped-up conspiracy called the Bhima-Koregaon case–to get the plastic drinking straw, which he needs to take a sip of water or tea because his Parkinson’s disease afflicted hands can bare hold the cup. He is not yet an undertrial, and certainly not a convict.
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When saints are in prison: Custody as a form of torture

When saints are in prison: Custody as a form of torture

The Quint / by Kaleeswaram Raj

Incarceration is not mere curtailment of freedom. It is a diminution of human dignity. And today, one is forced to think that individual dignity in India is in deep crisis.
It is amazing to watch the Supreme Court building that symbolises a wonderful architectural tradition. It is more so when one looks at the flock of birds that fly over the court’s tomb, epitomising universal liberty, a theme that the Constitution tried to imbibe. It contains provisions for certain fundamental rights even for non-citizens. Article 21 promises right to life and personal liberty to ‘any person’. The court has interpreted life to always mean dignified life.
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