Outrage over justice denied to GNSaibaba and others!
We had a brief moment of light on October 14, 2022 when the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted G.N. Saibaba, Prashant Rahi, Hem Mishra, Mahesh Tirky, and Vijay Tirky. All five were being held under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and convicted for conspiring against the state, a charge that the Indian government now frequently deploys to put activists and critics in jail.
The Maharashtra government responded with alacrity, asking the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing to stay the acquittal. The Supreme Court heard the case in a special sitting on October 15th with two different judges and suspended the order of the High Court, which means that the acquitted now remain in jail and we return to square one.
The vehemence with which the government is opposing the release of these political prisoners is evidence of how far it is ready to go to silence dissent. The oral statements of Justice Shah during the hearing demonstrate the alarming level of bias and complete absence of a sense of justice and fairness in the judiciary.
Amongst those arrested with the five in the same case was Pandu Narote. He died in custody less than two months ago on August 26. Narote was a healthy thirty-five-year-old when he was taken prisoner. Last year Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest, also accused under the UAPA, died in custody at the age of 84. Around the world, campaigns have called attention to the arbitrariness of holding people in prison under the UAPA, with the majority without trial and under the dangers of the covid pandemic.
Fearing for the life of Professor Saibaba, who is ninety percent disabled and wheelchair bound, we in InSAF India and South Asia Solidarity Group were gathering support from medical associations and health workers for a letter calling for immediate medical bail for Professor Saibaba. The letter has been endorsed by Doctors in Unite, UK, Doctors for Global Health, US, and Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, US. Please sign it if you are a medical/health professional or member of a health organization.
How long can we bear this travesty of justice?
https://www.academicfreedomindia.com/post/releasesaibaba