Rejection of the bail of an elderly and ailing person, with limited mobility and no history of violence against others, is beyond comprehension : More than 2500 signatories issued a statement
New Delhi siyasat.net
More than 2500 people from across the country and world have issued the a statement against the recent rejection of bail application of 84-year old Stan Swamy and appealed for his immediate bail. They have also appealed for repeal of UAPA, and a return to the norm where bail is the rule not the exception.
The signatories include several noted academics, activists, artists, film-makers, economists, jesuits, journalists, lawyers, retired bureaucrats and writers such as Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, Aloka Kujur, Alpa Shah, Anand Patwardhan, Anuradha Talwar, Apoorvanand, Aruna Roy, Ashish Kothari, Bela Bhatia, Bharat Bhushan Choudhary, Cedric Prakash, Dayamani Barla, Elina Horo, Farah Naqvi, Jayati Ghosh, Jean Dreze, John Dayal, Kavita Srivastava, Lalita Ramdas, Nandita Das, Nikhil Dey, Reetika Khera, Sridhar V, Sushanto Mukherji, Teesta Setalvad, Vasavi Kiro, Virginius Xaxa, Wajahat Habibullah, Yogendra Yadav and many more.
Eighty-four-year old Stan Swamy is a Parkinson’s disease patient with severe tremors in both hands. He has trouble drinking from a glass, taking bath and washing clothes on his own. He has other health ailments as well. Before his arrest, he used to spend most of his time at Bagaicha, Ranchi. Despite being repeatedly harassed (first by Maharashtra police and then the NIA) since 2018 in this case, he stayed in Bagaicha and cooperated fully with the investigation. Rejection of the bail of an elderly and ailing person, with limited mobility and no history of violence against others, is beyond comprehension.
It is ironic that while public support for Stan Swamy continues to grow, the court rejected the bail application in the “community’s interest”. Adivasis, Gram Sabhas, civil society, several political leaders and parties, and Jharkhand’s Chief Minister himself have condemned Stan’s arrest and expressed support and solidarity with him.
The recent Arsenal report, prepared on the basis of electronic evidence collected by the NIA, has exposed how fake documents were planted into the computers of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Stan himself clearly told the NIA that some so-called extracts allegedly taken from his computer were fabricated and that he disowned them. It is disturbing that the court decided to ignore this evidence of fabrication as it rejected the bail application.
Stan Swamy is a symbol of the plight of thousands of undertrial prisoners who languish in jail for years under fabricated UAPA charges, often aimed at harassing those who stand up for the underprivileged or oppose the government. The conviction rate in UAPA cases is extremely low (2.2% between 2016-19 as mentioned in the Parliament), confirming that many of the charges are baseless.
(www.siyasat.net is Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India based Website, powered by Gujarat siyasat, a Fortnightly)
An Appeal For The Sake Of Upright & Fearless Brand Of Journalism
To sustain and improve our coverage. Gujarat siyasat- a vernacular Fortnightly and English٫ Hindi Website www.siyasat.net
Your little but timely support is needed۔
Bank details، GUJARAT SIYASAT, Current Account 204720110000318, ifsc code BKID0002047 BANK OF INDIA , VASNA BRANCH, AHMEDABAD GUJARAT INDIA
Also on Phone pay, Paytm,Google pay +91 9925531111
We hope you help and see siyasat.net grow. And rejoice that your contribution has made it possible.
सत्य को ज़िंदा रखने की इस मुहिम में आपका सहयोग बेहद ज़रूरी है। आपसे मिली सहयोग राशि हमारे लिए संजीवनी का कार्य करेगी और हमे इस मार्ग पर निरंतर चलने के लिए प्रेरित करेगी। याद रखिये ! सत्य विचलित हो सकता है पराजित नहीं।
Regards,
Abdulhafiz Lakhani
editor@siyasat.net, Ahmedabad
GUJARAT INDIA
