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PUCL Report: UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR (#RepealUAPA campaign)

30/09/2022 Asha

PUCL Report: UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR (#RepealUAPA campaign)

28/09/2022

By V. Suresh, Madhura SB and Lekshmi Sujatha (PUCL)

Study of UAPA Abuse in India, 2009 – 2022
Published: Sep 28, 2022
41 pages
PUCL’s study on the use and abuse of UAPA covering the period between 2009 and 2022, with special emphasis on the NIA. A first in the series of a larger collaborative work as part of #RepealUAPA campaign.
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PUCL report alleges abuse of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act

02/10/2022

The Hindu / by The Hindu Bureau

Report by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties says ‘suo motu power’ by Centre to transfer investigation from the State police was a ‘serious threat to federalism’
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has released a report titled ‘UAPA: Criminalising Dissent and State Terror’ on the alleged abuse of the legislation during 2009-22, and demanding the law be repealed.
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97.2% of UAPA accused jailed for long periods and eventually acquitted, study finds

02/10/2022

The News Minute / by Jahnavi Reddy

The PUCL study found that 8,371 persons were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act between 2015 and 2020, while only 235 were convicted under the draconian anti-terror law in the same period.
A total of 8,371 persons were arrested in 5,924 cases under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) across India between 2015 and 2020, according to a report by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), which sheds light on the Union government’s alleged abuse of the anti-terror law and calls to repeal it. In the same period, however, only 235 persons were convicted under the UAPA.
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MRSD: Release Activist Vernon Gonsalves on immediate Medical bail

11/09/2022 Asha

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

PRESS STATEMENT
Statement by Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy – a campaign of 40+ civil society groups

MRSD is distressed to learn about the health situation of 65 year old activist, poet, and writer Vernon Gonsalves, incarcerated since 2018 in the Bhima Koregaon/Elgar Parishad case. Gonsalves started developing several symptoms, such as fever, cough, dizziness, and nausea starting on August 30, as per the affidavit filed by his lawyers in Court. However, his health condition was met with neglect and it was only after pleading several times that he was finally taken to the state-run JJ hospital on September 6. Instead of continuing his treatment there, he was taken back to jail the same day. Upon hearing about this from other co-accused, Gonsalves’ lawyers and family members moved the NIA court seeking temporary bail on medical conditions. During the hearing, the lawyers told the Court that apart from Dengue, he may also be suffering from Pneumonia. …

“Free them all!” A call of solidarity with political prisoners in India, America, and beyond

08/08/2022 Asha

“Free them all!” A call of solidarity with political prisoners in India, America, and beyond

08/08/2022

SASW / by Padma B and Beena Sarwar

… Whereas ‘fascism’ isn’t a phrase to be taken evenly, it’s tough to keep away from given how political dissent is being crushed in numerous nations. This got here by in shows at a current seminar within the Boston space about political repression and incarceration in India and the USA.
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Video: Political Incarceration and Resistance in India and the United States

31/07/2022

en | 1h26min | 2022

By Boston South Asian Coalition & Jericho Boston

1. Resisting the Political Incarceration in India. Speakers: Kavita Srivastava is the national secretary of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL). She is a dedicated human rights worker, working collectively towards restoring democracy, justice and ending inequalities. Prachi Teltumbde is a doctor and researcher based in London. She is also the daughter of Anand Teltumbde, a prominent public intellectual and one of the BK 15.
2. Mumia Abu Jamal’s Monumental Struggle Against Corruption and Empire. Speaker: JD

The demand to release incarcerated political activists in South Asia and the United States is gaining momentum. The incarceration of Bhima Koregaon 15 (BK 15), the institutional murder of Father Stan Swamy, and recent arrest of Teesta Setalwad and Mohammad Zubair has been condemned worldwide. In the US, the struggle continues to release the famous political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, well known for his powerful struggle against the Philadelphia political machine and analysis of current events. Boston South Asian Coalition’s (BSAC) and Jericho Boston are holding a joint event on July 30th (Saturday) 11:30am EST to discuss the state of political prisoners in India and the US.
Watch video

PUCL welcomes the initial step towards the complete repeal of the colonial law of Sedition

12/05/2022 Asha

PUCL welcomes the initial step towards the complete repeal of the colonial law of Sedition

12/05/2022

By Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

Press release
The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties welcomes the order of the Supreme Court dated 11.05.22 in the petition filed by Army veteran Major-General SG Vombatkere (Retired) as well as PUCL and a range of other petitioners challenging the constitutional validity of Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. In its petition, the PUCL had pleaded that owing to the development of constitutional law, the law of sedition of the colonial era had no place; it was overbroad, vague, arbitrary, violating the sacrosanct freedom of speech and expression, hence it was imperative to strike it down as it was unconstitutional.
Read full statement

Will SC’s Sedition Order Mean Relief for Delhi Riots, Bhima Koregaon Accused?

12/05/2022

The Quint / by Mekhala Saran

Simply put: the Supreme Court’s order in the pleas challenging the sedition law is unlikely to do so. Here’s why…
“I have every right to criticise the government. BJP-RSS do not constitute country. They do not constitute nation. They have taken a jibe against Modi, against his policies. How is this sedition?” Advocate Nihalsingh Rathod, appearing for Ramesh Gaichor and Sagar Gorkha — two of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case — had told a special court in November 2021.
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Suspending sedition: No cause for celebration

13/05/2022

Deccan Herald / by Shikha Mukerjee

There really is no cause for celebration after the conditional suspension of the infamous Section 124 A, otherwise known as the Sedition Act of 1870. The statute books have so many other equally infamous laws, starting with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act amended and strengthened in 2019, and the 2019 expansion of the National Investigation Agency Act that dumping a “colonial-era” law and claims to be respectful of human rights and liberties is a phoney gesture.
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Umar Khalid statement that he was invited to Elgar Parishad among additional evidence submitted by NIA

15/04/2022 Asha

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Umar Khalid Claims He Was Invited To Elgar Parishad By Former Judge Of Bombay High Court

17/04/2022

Live Law / by Live Law News Network

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) submitted a bunch of additional documents and witness statements to the court in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case, in which student rights activist Umar Khalid claims that he heard that BJP-RSS persons had attacked visitors at the Bhima-Koregaon, near Pune.
On January 1, 2018 several Dalit’s had gathered to commemorate a 200th anniversary of the battle in which the British, with the support of Dalits, defeated the Peshwa army.
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Former Bombay High Court judge Justice BG Kolse-Patil invited me to Elgar Parishad: Umar Khalid to NIA

15/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The statement by Khalid forms part of the additional documents which the central agency submitted to the Special NIA Court in Mumbai in the Bhima Koregaon riots case of 2018 allegedly linked to the Elgar Parishad event.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has recorded statement of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student and member of Unite against Hate organisation Umar Khalid in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018 allegedly linked to the Elgar Parishad event of December 31, 2017.
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Umar Khalid statement among additional evidence submitted by NIA to court

15/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

In the evidence submitted to the court, the NIA has included the statement of Khalid, recorded in the office of the deputy superintendent of Tihar jail in New Delhi, where he is lodged in connection with the Delhi riots case.
Nearly two years since the last arrests were made in the Elgaar Parishad case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week submitted before the special court additional evidence running into seven volumes, including the statement of student activist Umar Khalid and documents related to Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest who passed away last year while in judicial custody.
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Heard of BJP-RSS attack day after being at Elgar Parishad, says Umar Khalid

15/04/2022

The Times of India / by Rebecca Samervel

Among the additional documents submitted as evidence against the accused in the Elgar Parishad case is the statement of former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, who said that a day after attending the Elgar Parishad meeting in Pune, where he delivered a speech, he came to know that BJP and RSS members attacked those who had come to visit Koregaon Bhima.
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Opposition MPs urge Narendra Modi to free jailed activist / Full statement

06/02/2022 Asha

MPs write to PM, asking for immediate release of all arrested in Bhima Koregaon case

01/02/2022

By CPI (M)

click to enlarge

Bhima Koregaon case: Opposition MPs urge Narendra Modi to free jailed activists

07/02/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The MPs alleged that evidence was planted against the accused persons.
Members of several Opposition parties have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking immediate release of academicians, lawyers and activists detained in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Grant Bail to Activists Arrested in Elgar Parishad Case, MPs Say In Letter to Modi

07/02/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The letter, signed by 20 MPs, expresses “deep concern at the media and cyber-forensic expert reports indicating that Indian citizens have been attacked with illegal cyber weapons”
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Also read:
● Arsenal Report No. 4 Confirms Pegasus Attack on IPhone of Rona Wilson, Key BK Accused (PUCL / Dec 2021)

India’s government unleashing controversial UAPA as means of silencing civil rights activists

27/01/2022 Asha

Daily Maverick / By Anandaroop Sen

In this interview, Anandaroop Sen, a senior lecturer in history at the University of Cape Town, talks to Kavita Srivastava, the President of the Rajasthan Chapter of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and one of India’s most respected activists, about the clampdown and what it represents for the future of human rights in India.

Anandaroop Sen (AS): Could you begin by giving the context in which the 16 Indian academics, activists, lawyers, popularly known as the Bhima Koregaon 16 (BK 16) have been imprisoned by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for the last three years.
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Indian anti-terror law snags more than terrorists / 4,690 UAPA arrests; 3.1% convictions

22/12/2021 Asha

Indian anti-terror law snags more than terrorists

22/12/2021

Yahoo News / by Sarita Santoshini

Pendyala Pavana is no stranger to the world of social activism and government repression. Ever since she was a child she has seen her father, a revolutionary poet and activist, subjected to repeated criminal charges, accused of everything under the sun, including murder.
Twenty-four times he has been charged; 24 times he has been found not guilty. Still, Ms. Pavana is shocked by the way her father, Varavara Rao, is being treated in his latest ordeal. “It’s quite against natural justice, and his rights are completely denied,” she says.
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4,690 UAPA arrests between 2018-21; only 3.1% convictions

22/12/2021

The Federal / by The Federal

Authorities arrested 4,690 people across India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) between 2018 and 2021, but only 149 detainees have so far been convicted, according to figures provided by the government.
That means only 3.1 per cent of the arrests under the draconian law in the past three years have ended in convictions.
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PUCL: Arsenal Report No. 4 Confirms Pegasus Attack on IPhone of Rona Wilson, Key BK Accused

17/12/2021 Asha

Countercurrents / by People’s Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL)

In a detailed report released today, 17th December, 2021, Arsenal Consulting, the Boston-based forensic investigation firm assisting the defense lawyers in the Bhima Koregaon (BK) case, and Amnesty Tech Security Lab, have confirmed that the iPhone of one of the key accused, Mr. Rona Wilson, was attacked multiple times by the Pegasus spyware. This has been simultaneously reported in the Washington Post and The Wire…
The publication of this report raises three extremely critical and troubling questions:
Read full statement

Also read:
● Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)

Civil society renews demand for repeal of UAPA, AFSPA and Sedition Law

14/12/2021 Asha

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Civil society renews demand for repeal of UAPA, AFSPA and Sedition Law

14/12/2021

Kashmir Media Service / by KMS

Prominent civil society groups and activists as well as lawyers held a public meeting at the Press Club of India and demanded repeal of black laws like Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, sedition law, and Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
The speakers explained various aspects of the black laws, their history of use by various governments in India to try to silence the voices of the people, and said in one voice that in a democracy there was no place for such laws. Those who addressed the meeting included M K Venu of The Wire, Vikas Bajpai, Ish Mishra and A Dubey of Janhastakshep, civil rights activist Sanjay Parikh and lawyer and civil rights activist N D Pancholi.
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Bail to Sudha Bharadwaj: Civil rights groups demand release of all BK case accused

14/12/2021

Counterview / by Counterview

Civil rights groups, even as welcoming the Supreme Court order granting default bail to Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj, have demanded that release of all human rights defenders arrested in the Bhima Koregaon (BK) case.
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) said the “short order of the Supreme Court” on December 7 dismissing the Special Leave Petition (SLP) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)” is a “vindication of the long campaign against the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the PUCL and other allied groups.
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Read full statement: PUCL Welcomes Bail for Sudha Bharadwaj

Over 50% of those arrested under UAPA were under 30, Centre tells Parliament

15/12/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The government said it was not considering any amendments to the anti-terror law, which critics say is being increasingly used to stifle dissent.
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