Sudha Bharadwaj – Page 17

March 8: Solidarity with Shoma, Sudha & Jyoti & Other Women Human Rights Defenders

08/03/2021 Maya

by Smashboard

This International Women’s Day, back our right to peaceful protest! Stand with these brave women attacked & arrested on trumped up charges in India – only for defending democracy.

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by Gabbar:
On the International Women’s day let’s remember human rights activists Sudha Bharadwaj, professor and activist Shoma Sen and Jyoti Jagtap, who along with 13 others are behind bars in the fake Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case +++

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Rally against state violence against women in India held in Surrey

07/03/2021

Countercurrents / by Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI)

On the eve of International Women’s Day, South Asian activists came together to raise their voices against gendered repression in the world’s so called largest democracy.
Organized by the Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) on Sunday, March 7, the rally was held outside the Indian Visa and Passport Application Center in Surrey (Canada).
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Sudha Bharadwaj’s plea for NIA to withdraw ‘defamatory’ remark ‘not maintainable’ says court

01/03/2021 Rani

Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter

In a detailed order, a special NIA court which rejected on 12 February an application by Bhima-Koregaon accused activist Sudha Bharadwaj seeking that the NIA withdraw its ‘defamatory’ remarks against her, has said that her plea is ‘not maintainable’ as there is no such provision under the Criminal Procedure Code.
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Feb 13th: #FreeBK16 #EvidencePlanted (posters) / Sudha Bharadwaj spends 900 days in detention

13/02/2021 Rani

Feb 13th TWEET STORM: #FreeBK16 #EvidencePlanted

13/02/2021

Tweets by various groups and individuals

The Washington Post newspaper has published a report in which Arsenal Consulting, a digital forensics firm, exposes the “extremely dark” and “very organised” hacking of activist Rona Wilson’s laptop to plant incriminating evidence related to the Bhima Koregaon incident. Sixteen activists are facing charges under UAPA and have been lodged in jail without bail in Bhima Koregaon case.
Some tweets and posters shared during the tweet storm today:

Dalit Camera: What kind of a country puts its intellectuals behind bars for something they didn’t do?

Dalit Camera: When the government doesn’t have an answer to the storm of questions raised against, it resorts to arresting those speaking the truth fearlessly. Shame!

NAPM India: National Alliance of People’s Movements demands the govt #FreeBK16 in light of #EvidencePlanted – it is draconian to jail #HumanRights activists based on fabricated evidence and no trial!

Elgar Parishad: After Armed Arsenal report it is evident that Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon case is completely fabricated. We demand immediate release of BK 16

Jignesh Mevani: India’s prominent intellectuals are in jail for one simple reason: they can think and oppose an autocratic government! There is no legal basis, no trial, and even the evidence is planted! The world should take note!

Boston South Asian Coalition: Arsenal Consulting, a reputed Forensic firm has exposed the conspiracy that maliciously planted evidence to arrest

Cedric Prakash: It is important that all the illegally incarcerated are freed immediately

COLLECTIVE: COLLECTIVE demands arrest of Sangh rioters Shambhaji bhide, Milind Ekbote. India will be a country of #Andolanjeevis, not bootlickers of imperialism.

Sudha Bharadwaj spends 900 days in detention

12/02/2021

Civicus.org / by CIVICUS

▪ 13 February 2021 marks Sudha Bharadwaj’s 900th day in pre-trial detention
▪ Questions raised about validity of letters used to incriminate Sudha
▪ Indian authorities have limited the number of books she can receive
February 13 marks 900 days since Indian activist Sudha Bharadwaj was arrested and imprisoned. On this day, global civil society organisation CIVICUS calls on the Indian government to immediately release Bharadwaj and drop all charges against her.
Since 2018, Sudha and 15 other activists, writers and lawyers have been arrested under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and accused of having links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
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Activist Sudha Bharadwaj’s plea against NIA to withdraw ‘defamatory’ remarks rejected

13/02/2021 Maya

Poster, Aug 2020

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Bharadwaj had filed a plea in December, seeking access to unredacted copies of statements of witnesses recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The NIA, in its reply, had opposed the plea and alleged that access to statements was sought to cause harm to the witnesses.
A special court on Friday rejected an application by law professor and activist Sudha Bharadwaj that sought directions to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to withdraw “defamatory” allegations made against her in a written reply filed by the agency.
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Key evidence against jailed activists planted using malware, says forensic report [read report] / Video: Planted Evidence?

10/02/2021 Rani

They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says

10/02/2021

Washington Post / by Niha Masih and Joanna Slater

Key evidence against a group of Indian activists accused of plotting to overthrow the government was planted on a laptop seized by police, a new forensics report concludes, deepening doubts about a case viewed as a test of the rule of law under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An attacker used malware to infiltrate a laptop belonging to one of the activists, Rona Wilson, before his arrest and deposited at least 10 incriminating letters on the computer, according to a report from Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm that examined an electronic copy of the laptop at the request of Wilson’s lawyers.
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Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report

10/02/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The report was prepared by a foreign digital forensics consulting company appointed by the lawyers of Rona Wilson, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
… Massachusetts-based firm Arsenal Consulting was appointed by Wilson’s lawyers to analyse the electronic evidence seized from his home by the Pune Police in 2018.
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Read Arsenal Consulting’s full report here

Video: Planted Evidence?

10/02/2021

en | 23:20min | 2021

NDTV / by Sreenivasan Jain

In this episode of Reality Check, a new report suggests crucial evidence on which the investigating agencies built the case against activists in the Bhima Koregaon case may have been planted.
Sreenivasan Jain in conversation with Mark Spencer, Head of Arsenal Consulting; Joanna Slater, Washington Post; Vrinda Grover, Advocate Supreme Court; Geeta Bhatt, Political Analyst; N Venugopal, Varavara Rao’s nephew.
Watch video

Key evidence against jailed activists planted using malware, says forensic report

10/02/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The report found that an attacker used malware to infiltrate activist Rona Wilson’s laptop before his arrest, and deposited at least 10 incriminating letters.
Key evidence against a group of activists and intellectuals, who have been arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, was planted using a malware on a laptop seized by police, a new forensics report has found, The Washington Post reported.
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Incriminating Letters Were ‘Planted’ on Rona Wilson’s Laptop: US Digital Forensics Firm

10/02/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Investigating agencies have used these letters to implicate Wilson and 15 other rights activists arrested in the ongoing Elgar Parishad case of 2018.
For at least 22 months before the Pune Police had raided activist Rona Wilson’s residence in New Delhi and arrested him, a cyber attacker had allegedly gained access to his laptop and planted at least 10 incriminating letters on it.
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Also Read:
► Prison-rights activist Rona Wilson’s hard disk contained malware that allowed remote access (The Caravan, Mar 2020)
► 13 letters leaked by Pune police show why it’s hard to believe claims about a Maoist conspiracy (Scroll.in, Sep 2018)

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

28/01/2021 Rani

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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Evidence against Sudha Bharadwaj ‘too poor’ to be admissible, says lawyer / A Peek into her Life and Journey

25/01/2021 Rani

Evidence against Sudha Bharadwaj ‘too poor’ to be admissible, says lawyer

25/01/2021

The Telegraph / by Basant Kumar Mohanty

Writers, activists and academics seek her release from jail, urge intelligentsia to break their silence.
Yug Chaudhary, lawyer of activist Sudha Bharadwaj who has been in custody since her arrest in the Bhima Koregaon case in 2018, on Sunday said the purported evidence against her lacked “sanctity” and was “too poor” to be admissible.
At a webinar, writers, activists and academics demanded that Bharadwaj be released from jail and urged the intelligentsia to follow her example and break their silence as the country’s institutions were no longer reliable.
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A Peek into the Life and Journey of Sudha Bharadwaj

24/01/2021

The Leaflet / by People’s Union for Civil Liberties

Through a series of interviews with Sudha Bharadwaj, PUCL shows the grim reality of the people fighting in tribal areas for the land they own. The book titled ‘A LIFE IN LAW AND ACTIVISM: SUDHA BHARADWAJ SPEAKS’ shows her journey into fighting for the rights of people, her cases and the story of the people affected by these laws…
The following are edited excerpts from the book.
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Sudha Bharadwaj on Why She Joined the Trade Union Movement and Became a Lawyer

24/01/2021

The Wire / by Santanu Chakraborty and Darshana Mitra

“We have to bring the Constitution to life. That’s where the lawyers and peoples’ organisations have to work together.”
The following is an excerpt from Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks: A Life in Law and Activism published by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties. Bharadwaj, a lawyer, trade unionist and rights activist, was arrested in 2018 in the Elgar Parishad case. The book is based on a long interview of Bharadwaj conducted before her arrest by two young lawyers, Santanu Chakraborty and Darshana Mitra.
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‘My mother misses home often’, says Sudha Bharadwaj’s daughter during book release

24/01/2021

The Print / by The Print Team

A book titled ‘Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks: A Life in Law and Activism’, based on a long interview just before Bharadwaj’s arrest in 2018, was released Sunday.
A new e-book based on a long interview with human rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, who has been under arrest for more than two years now, was released Sunday.
The book, titled Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks: A Life in Law and Activism, is based on an interview conducted by lawyers Santanu Chakraborty and Darshana Mitra just before Bharadwaj was arrested in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case in 2018. It was released at a webinar by author Nayantara Sehgal.
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PDF copy: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

24/01/2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties

Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Pictures credit: PUCL
Cover Design / Layout: Vinay Jain
Paperback: 316 pages

Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

Please download and share widely!
#RepealUAPA

Book release: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism [PDF copy]

24/01/2021 Maya

PDF copy: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

24/01/2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties

Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

Please download and share widely!
#RepealUAPA

Video – Book Release: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?

24/01/2021

en + hindi | 2h 53min | 2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties and more than 100 other organizations

Topic: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?
Sudha Bharadwaj, a renowned human rights lawyer, trade unionist, is one of 16 activists incarcerated in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case for more than 2 years. A long interview conducted with Sudha over several days before she was arrested is now being published as an online book “Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks – A Life in Law and Activism”, and will be released at this webinar by the well-known writer, Nayantara Sahgal. Sudha’s daughter, Maaysha, her lawyer Yug Chaudhary, social activist Harsh Mandar, historian Uma Chakravarti amongst other coworkers & colleagues, will also share their experiences and memories of working with her.
Watch video @ PUCL Facebook (videos)

Programme – click to enlarge

Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism (PDF copy)

24/01/2021 Rani

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties

Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Access a free PDF copy of the book here

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

14/01/2021 Rani

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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