The Leaflet / by Ravi Nair
India claims that its constitutional checks and balances prevent the abuse of counterterrorism laws; the evidence, including cases of false imprisonment and torture, suggests that these checks and balances are insufficient not only to protect civilians from abuse under counterterrorism laws but to protect them from terrorism itself.
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Opia Films – PUCL Webinar
en | 13:54min | 2020
Advocate Rebecca John’s powerful talk on UAPA as a tool of repression and how “process is the real punishment” in UAPA cases. At PUCL’s webinar “TWO YEARS AND COUNTING… Revisiting the Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy Case” on August 29, 2020.
By National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
Release all political prisoners, including Sudha Bharadwaj who has been imprisoned for 2 years!
Arrest the real criminals of ‘Bhima Koregaon’!
Repeal the UAPA Law!
28th August 2020: In India’s dark history of human rights violations, 28th August 2018 has become a very important day. On this day, Sudha Bharadwaj was arrested by Pune police from her home in Faridabad. On the same day, Gautam Navlakha from Delhi, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves from Mumbai and Varavara Rao from Hyderabad were also arrested. Although Gautam Navlakha was granted relief from arrest for a while by the Delhi High Court, he was also arrested a few months ago. In the ‘Bhima Koregaon case’, baseless and false facts have been used to fabricate a criminal case. …
Hindustan Times / by Priyanka Sahoo
More than 400 students, faculty members, and alumni from various science and technology institutes in the country have signed a petition to the Central government, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, demanding bail and medical care for Varavara Rao and GN Saibaba, who are in jail for their alleged Communist Party of India (CPI)-Maoist links, and the release of other political prisoners.
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The Quint / by Shorbori Purkayastha
Podcast: Is it ethical for Bhima Koregaon accused Varavara Rao to be refused interim bail in this pandemic?
Should we be looking at heath conditions or the gravity of offense for prisoners seeking interim bail on health grounds in view of the pandemic?
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The Indian Express / by Colin Gonsalves
The observation of the Court in Bharadwaj’s case that the decision as to whether a document is admissible in evidence or not will have to wait for the trial stage is unbelievable. Courts routinely exclude inadmissible documents or statements (such as hearsay) from consideration while deciding bail applications.
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Article 14 / by Abhinav Sekhri
Varavara Rao. Sudha Bharadwaj. Devangana Kalita. SafooraZargar. Scores of activists and students, all labelled criminals, all charged under a law whose legal processes ensure that proof of their innocence or guilt is rendered irrelevant.
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By Civil Liberties Committee (AP &Telangana State)
We cannot forget 2018. In fact that the violence in Bhimakoregaon in Maharashtra on January 2018 was a planned and organized by the RSS and other Hindhutva outfits in order to foil Edgar Parishat, a conglomeration of dalits, bahujans and minorities who gathered in a single platform. The Parishad proclaimed to fight against fascist hindutva forces and reclaim Constitution and its ideals. In the months of June and August the Maharashtra Police raided selectively the houses of human rights and social activists across the country.
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Maktoobmedia.com / by Mrinal Sharma, Amnesty International India
First published May 6, 2020
The criminal justice system loses credibility when people are detained for no good reason. In India, this happens frequently under many laws, where journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, and students are arrested just for being critical of the government.
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Counterview / by Vidya Bhushan Rawat
It is deeply disturbing that 81-year-old poet Varavara Rao has been denied bail and has now been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai. Reports suggest that the prison in Taloja, Navi Mumbai, where he was lodged, has several Covid-19 patient. The family and friends of Varavara Rao have protested in Hyderabad, as they were not even allowed to visit him.
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