Khalid, an activist and former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, is accused of being one of the “masterminds” of the conspiracy to instigate violence during the 2020 riots in the aftermath of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests. He was arrested on September 13, 2020, under the controversial anti-terrorist law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (UAPA). The solidarity event with Khalid screened ‘Prisoner No. 626710 is Present’, a documentary by noted filmmaker Lalit Vachani chronicling Khalid’s political journey, the mainstream media’s vilification of the activist since 2016, and the experiences of his close peers as he remains behind the bar. Other screenings of the film were held on the same day at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Ashoka University. Solidarity was also extended from beyond India’s borders as the Oxford South Asian Society at the University of Oxford also held the film’s screening. Between September 13 and 15, dozens of screenings of the film are being held at different solidarity events across India, including in Kolkata, Mumbai, Karnataka, and Kerala.

“The film screenings across the country were held to mark four years since Umar’s arrest, and the injustice he and other anti-CAA activists are facing as they are not even afforded a hearing in courts even while rapists and murderers are allowed bail and parole by the judiciary,” said Apeksha Priyadarshini, a JNU alumna, political activist, and friend of Khalid’s.

On September 13, people took to social media platforms asking for Khalid’s release and a fair trial. Actor Swara Bhasker posted on X saying, “Today marks 4 years of the incarceration of #UmarKhalid without bail, trial or crime. This is a travesty in a country supposed to be a democracy. This is a shame and an embarrassing testimony of our justice system.”

In Vachani’s documentary, writer and art curator Shuddhabrata Sengupta and Khalid’s partner and researcher Banojyotsna Lahiri say that the activist addressed many anti-CAA protest meets before the riots took place and always spoke of upholding the Constitution and peaceful protests. However, the Indian authorities blamed the largely public and peaceful anti-CAA protests for causing the riots, while blatantly ignoring inflammatory speeches given by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and right-wing personalities in the same period.

With clips of TV news, Khalid’s speeches, and his interviews, the film also delves into how a large section of the news media is targetedly portrayed Khalid as a “terrorist” since the 2016 JNU protests, with one news channel going on to make an unsubstabtiated claim about Khalid’s association with terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Shuddhabrata Sengupta, who was interviewed for the documentary, spoke at the discussion after the screening. He pointed out how among the three student activists arrested in 2016 under sedition charges, Khalid was especially persecuted for his Muslim identity. Not surprisingly a murder attempt was made on Khalid in 2018 outside the Constitution Club. However, a Delhi court discharged the two men who allegedly attacked Khalid. The film traces how the continued vilification of the young Muslim activist in media culminated in him being charged with the UAPA in the Delhi riots case.

Priyadarshini, one of the organisers of the event held in Delhi, told NewsClick, “⁠The film is an important documentation, not just of Umar’s journey but also of our times. It delves into the details of the events as they transpired in 2020, and unravels the real conspiracy behind the Delhi violence, and why these activists have been blamed for it. It is also deeply personal because it highlights why the continuing incarceration of an activist and human being like Umar Khalid is such a tragic loss for this country.”

“The way mainstream media portrays him is nothing new anymore. But what feels outrageous is that those who actually incited the violence continue to roam free without any consequences. Real justice will not just be the freedom of Umar, Sharjeel [Imam], Gulfisha [Fatima], Khalid [Saifi] and others, but also that the real perpetrators of the Delhi violence are punished for their crimes,” she added.

Prisoner of Conscience and Absence

Underlining the solitary experience of an intellectual and activist in prison, and her own experience as Khalid’s long-time friend, Priyadarshini said, “⁠It is not just this separation which is painful. It is also knowing you cannot offer him any respite from this isolation that makes you feel helpless sometimes.”

Khalid’s another old friend from his JNU days, Anirban Bhattacharya, who moderated the discussion after the film screening at Jawahar Bhawan, said, “One of the biggest parts of the punishment is Umar not being able to have meaningful conversations with likeminded people,” adding that Khalid loves to talk. He mentioned that Khalid keeps himself company with books sent to him in Tihar Jail by his friends and other people and newspapers to keep in touch with the world.

When asked how the imprisoned activist is dealing with loneliness for so long, Banojyotsna Lahiri, who visits him in prison often, said, “He is coping because there is no other option. We have been pushed into this situation, but it’s part of the fight. The fight against CAA continues. He is surviving; that is how he is coping.”

Speaking about hopes of him being released on bail, Lahiri said, “If there is no date, what’s the point speculating?” She added, “It’s a robbery of basic liberty.”

“All the youth were on the streets to remind people that political prisoners have been suffering since 1929. So far, the trial has not started, and there is no discussion on whether they are guilty. Only bail applications have been heard, and the next hearing is on October 9th,” Lahiri said at the event.

Speaking on whether Sengupta feels hopeless about the repeated denial of Khalid’s bail applications, he said, “It is my responsibility to keep hope alive, whether bail happens or not. At every hearing, we hope it comes through. If we leave hope, it will crush the hopes of those inside the prison.”

In February 2020, communal violence erupted in northeast Delhi amid protests against CAA. Over four years later, the case against activists accused of planning these riots remains untried. The Delhi police filed charges against 18 individuals, 16 of whom are Muslim. Twelve of the accused have been jailed without trial for over four years.

Khalid’s peers point out that those unable to get bail in the case are also Muslims. Khalid, accused of delivering an inflammatory speech in Amravati before the riots, has had multiple bail applications rejected, only receiving a week’s interim bail in December 2022 for his sister’s wedding.

In June 2021, the Delhi High Court granted bail to three co-accused student activists, criticizing the state for blurring the line between protest and terrorism. Since then, judges have dismissed at least 60 Delhi riots cases, according to a recent Article 14 report.

Aritry Das is a freelance journalist.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Jailed Without Trial: Umar Khalid’s 4-Year Ordeal Ignites Solidarity appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Transgender Welfare Equity and Empowerment Trust (TWEET) Foundation has alleged that a cop from the Uttar Pradesh Police has assaulted two of its board members after barging into one of the NGO’s shelter homes in Gurgaon, Delhi NCR. The police officer has allegedly done so to get the victims to reveal the location of his son, a transman, who had been residing at TWEET’s shelter home.

The two persons were allegedly assaulted by the cop who has been identified as Krishna Kant Singh from the Haidergarh police station in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh.

The duo lodged separate complaints with the police at the DLF Phase 3 police station in Gurugram on Saturday and marked them to the Ministry of Social Justice. They have accused Singh of beating them up and the police officers at the DLF Phase 3 police station of abetting Singh’s actions. They also said they had suffered soft tissue injuries after the beating according to a medical examination done on the same day of the incident. Gurgaon Police PRO Subhash Boken, while speaking to NewsClick, claimed that nobody was beaten up inside the DLF Phase 3 police station in September 1. He said the UP Police inspector Krishna Kant Singh had accused the NGO members of kidnapping his trans son, which was allegedly mitigated by calling both sides to the police station. Commenting on the two complaints filed by Gupta and Ramachandra, he said, “The police will investigate the allegations and if there is any strength to the accusations, an FIR will be lodged.”

‘Beaten and Wrongfully Confined’

According to a statement by the TWEET Foundation, Singh was uniformed when he arrived at the shelter home ‘Aasra’ in Gurugram Sector 24, DLF Phase 3, along with his wife, one son, two unidentified men, on September 1, at around 12.15 pm. After barging in, the four men allegedly beat up Shaman Gupta (33), co-chairperson at TWEET Foundation, and Gautam Ramachandra (24), board member at TWEET. Both victims of the alleged assault identify as transmen.

Gupta alleged that he and Ramachandra were dragged out from the shelter and forcefully put into a jeep by the four accused; their phones were taken away. As a result, they could not contact anyone from the organisation or their lawyers.

“They (the four men) dragged us out and put us into the jeep. I was not even wearing my slippers. The neighbours did not intervene because Singh was in uniform and they thought we must have done something wrong,” Gupta told NewsClick. He further claimed that they were taken to a small room on the first floor of the DLF Phase 3 police station in Gurugram where they were pressured to divulge the location of the cop’s son, a transman henceforth referred to as Deep (name changed).

Gupta alleged he and Ramachandra were repeatedly slapped every time they tried to say anything and they were forcefully kept in that room at the station for more than half an hour. “Singh kept beating us and saying how dare we kept him (Deep) and he will put us in jail for kidnapping,” Gupta alleged. He also said that no one from the police station intervened during the incident.

After some time, the duo said, they would bring Deep to the police station by calling Abhina Aher, founder and board member of the TWEET foundation. They contacted Aher on the pretext of locating Deep and she arrived at the police station with other activists, including Aryan Pasha, who is also a member of the National Council for Transgender Persons (NCTP), a statutory body of the Indian government.

After Aher arrived with others, Gupta and Ramachandra were freed, but not without more hassle, they said.

Pasha, speaking to NewsClick, recalled that upon reaching the police station he saw Gupta and Ramachandra sitting there, their hair dishevelled, their clothes dusty, and the former not wearing any shoes or slippers. He alleged that the policemen at the station disregarded him even when he showed his ID and mocked Gupta for trying to say it was illegal to hold them. “When Shaman started saying there was a law protecting transgender persons and so on, the police began laughing and mocked him. I strongly believe the government should reform the police first,” Pasha said. He added that he has held training sessions for gender sensitisation with the Madhya Pradesh police as part of the NCTP, but that needed to be done on a larger scale in the country so that transgender persons are not abused.

Pasha said that from the police station, he called R Giri Raj, the Director of the National Institute of Social Defence, which falls under the Ministry of Social Justice. The NISD Director then purportedly called the DCP, following which Gupta and Ramachandra were finally let go.

Cop’s Transman Son Alleges Abuse

The TWEET Foundation, run by transgender persons, works with private and government institutions, such as the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, for the welfare of transgender persons. The foundation says its Gurgaon shelter home was established in line with the objectives of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020, which directs the creation of institutional and infrastructural facilities such as temporary shelters and accommodations for transgender persons, who are often persecuted by their families and communities for their marginal gender identity.

The foundation shared a letter from the 24-year-old transman Deep, son of Singh, who urged the Aasra shelter to provide him with a safe place to stay, from where he could take legal action against his family. In the said letter sent over email, Deep said that he was residing in Gurgaon and hailed from Lucknow, and claimed that if he went back to his family, they would either kill him or get him married. Deep added that he needed some assistance in taking legal action and finding a lawyer.

On August 6, in the presence of his parents and members of the TWEET foundation including Gautam, Deep submitted a statement to the Govindpuri police station saying he does not feel safe at home. He said that he faced physical, verbal, and emotional abuse from his father and brother. In the statement, shared by the foundation, Deep said, “I believe they (his family) will lock me in the house and there is a threat to my life.”

Activists Say They are Traumatised

Both Gupta and Ramachandra say they were more mentally traumatised than physically hurt. “It will take some time to recover from this. I am not feeling well emotionally. I feel scared to step out thinking that they might come again. Aasra is supposed to be a safe space for trans persons who do not have supportive families, friends or financial stability. Now, it does not feel so safe anymore,” Ramachandra told NewsClick.

Ramachandra added that in his line of work, where they rescue and shelter transgender persons, parents often come to threaten them and verbally abuse them; however, he has never been subjected to a physical assault before.

The activist further said, “We recently moved our shelter from Delhi to Gurgaon. Previously, we had sensitised the local police station in Govindpuri so that transgenders who go there are not harassed. But here, we are yet to do that. That is why Krishna Kant Singh could not do much when he came to the Govindpuri station. However, he threatened us saying he will come back and see it to the end.”

Deep was not at the shelter home and had gone to his office when his father came looking for him. “It’s a relief that he was not there when Singh barged in. Even though it was a terrible incident, it was not the worst situation. I can’t imagine what would have happened to him had Singh actually found him,” Ramachandra said.

Ramachandra said they wanted to take the case to the court and urge the government to provide security to shelter homes, or otherwise, trans people will lose the handful of safe spaces they have. He recalled another incident in July where transgender persons were allegedly assaulted by the police in Delhi after one of them was picked up from a government-supported shelter home called Garima Greh.

Gupta, in this regard, mentioned the lack of implementation of the rules formed under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act. “There is no Transgender Protection Cell in any of these states as per the law. The provisions have to be implemented for the law to have any real impact on transgender lives,” he said. The guidelines under the Act direct the formation of a Transgender Protection Cell under the Director General of Police in the states to monitor cases of offences against Transgender persons.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Transgender Activists Say UP Cop Beat Them up for Sheltering Trans Son in Gurugram appeared first on SabrangIndia.

New Delhi: Noted individuals and organisations working for civil liberties and human rights held a people’s tribunal in Delhi on Saturday to address the concerns over the implications of two recent Supreme Court judgements in petitions filed by Zakia Jafri and Himanshu Kumar.

The members of the tribunal on “Judicial Rollback of Civil Liberties” consisted of Justice AP Shah (former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court), Justice Anjana Prakash (Former judge of Patna High Court), Justice Marlepalle (former judge of Bombay High Court), Professor Virginius Xaxa (Chair of the 2014 High Level Committee to examine the status of scheduled tribes), Dr Syeda Hameed (former member of Planning Commission).

In the case of activist Himanshu Kumar, the Supreme Court on July 14 dismissed a petition filed in 2009 seeking an independent probe into the alleged extra-judicial killings of adivasis by security forces in Chhattisgarh. Additionally, the top court also imposed a fine worth Rs 5 lakh on the main petitioner, Himanshu Kumar. However, the tribal rights activist has refused to pay the fine.

 Counsels on behalf of the Union government claimed that the petitioners depicted killings carried out by Naxals as being done by the security forces. The division bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and J.B. Pardiwala left it to the government of Chhattisgarh to take any action against the petitioners for allegedly making “false charges” under Section 211 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and even for “criminal conspiracy”.

Speaking to NewsClick, Kumar said: “The order said that Himanshu Kumar’s petition is false, fine should be imposed on it and it was filed to help Naxalites. Supreme Court has also permitted NIA and CBI to file FIRs against us and probe us. However, the current DIG of NIA, Amresh Kumar, was the responsible Superintendent of Police during the massacres in Chhattisgarh. There’s not only a conflict of interest, but he is an accused. The court is telling us that we should rely on their investigation.” he added, “The Supreme Court also accepted an affidavit of the Centre that claimed all those who go to the courts against the security forces are trying to help Naxalite. This means all the human rights activists are criminals and can be jailed.”

 He further said: “Based on what the adivasi petitioners said under pressure while in police custody, that they did not know the perpetrators, the Supreme Court says our petition is false. But instead, they should get it investigated that who actually killed those people.”

 The petition, which was moved by Himanshu Kumar and 12 others, alleged that security forces had shot about 15 tribals from Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district in the guise of anti-Naxal operations in 2009. Their plea sought an independent investigation into the killings and asked the court to direct the government to provide compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased.

Collin Gonsalves, counsel for the petitioners, pointed out that while not in police custody, every adivasi petitioner has named the security forces as the perpetrators of the 2009 killings in Gompad and Gachhanpalli villages and even identified police officials involved in it. But the Supreme Court said it found no evidence against the police, Gonsalves added. His statement was corroborated by the victims’ families cum petitioners who spoke at the tribunal.

“The petitioners did not even know whether an investigation took place. How will they? The investigators did not even come and take their statements. And not a single tribal has said that those were attacks by Naxalites,” Gonsalves said.

The adivasis whose kin died or were injured during these alleged operations in 2009, narrated their stories before the tribunal. One of them, Markam Muke, said her husband Markam Sula was dragged out of the house by the police and killed along with two other villagers. After she signed the petition for the probe, the police allegedly picked her up and kept her in custody for a month, she said. “They brought us to Delhi to give statements at the court (Tis Hazari) and told us not to take the police’s name. The police said if we did as they said, they would pay us but if not, they would kill us,” Markam Muke said. She added that she has not received any compensation till now.

In view of this, Justice AP Shah said, “The tribals who are even scared of going to the tehsildar, somehow reached the apex court to seek justice for their people who died. But instead of ordering an independent investigation into the incident, the tribals were told their petition is false, there should be criminal proceedings against them and the main petitioner should pay Rs 5 lakh fine. This is shocking.”

Zakia Jafri Case: ‘SC Failing in its Duty’

In the case of Zakia Jafri, a victim of 2002 Gujarat Riots whose husband and Congress leader Ehsan Jafri was killed in the Gulberg Society massacre, the Supreme Court dismissed her challenge to the closure report filed by the special investigation team (SIT); the order thus dismissed the allegations of a larger conspiracy by high state functionaries. It also slammed the petitioner and Teesta Setalvad, who was a co-petitioner but was not accepted as one by the court, by saying that some people kept “the pot boiling” of the case “for ulterior design” and “all those involved in such abuse of process, need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with the law.” This was followed by the arrest of human rights activist Teesta Setalvad and R.B. Sreekumar, the former additional director general police, by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad on the basis of an FIR that reportedly draws from the Supreme Court judgement.

Nizam Pasha, Advocate at the Supreme Court, said: “If you want to summarise Article 32 of the Constitution, it says the role of the Supreme Court to question the government’s actions and motivations. But if the Supreme Court starts reprimanding those who are raising questions then is it doing its duty?  It’s failing in its duty. Then we are living in a Banana Republic.” He added, “We are not afraid of the government but the failure of constitutional safeguard on governments powers. What I find problematic in this judgment is the approach ‘how dare you (the petitioners)’.

Giving a clean chit to PM Narendra Modi, the Supreme Court held that the riot was not pre-planned, Pasha said, adding, “However, that was not our argument. We argued such a situation was created by the Sangh and its affiliated organisations that only a matchstick was needed for a riot. And the Godhra incident became that matchstick. The creating of that situation was the conspiracy.”

Advocate Mihir Desai said, “The judgement was not only wrong on merits but also for making observations against Teesta Setalvad, Sreekumar, and others. This is her (Teesta’s) life’s work. There was a huge amount of groundwork done, including staying in camps for days to collect information.” He further said, “The SC says the pot has been kept boiling for 16 years. But on March 1, 2002, the NHRC first took suo motu cognisance and visited Gujarat, and made a report. It said the entire law and order had broken down there. In 2004, the NHRC said eight key trials (of the riots) should be moved out of Gujarat.”

Desai said that Jafri first went to high court with her petition and when that was rejected, she went to the Supreme Court as that is the process. Commenting further on the judgement, he added that “Even in 2008, the Supreme Court while not moving the trials outside Gujarat said it did not want Gujarat police to investigate the cases… We did not start boiling the pot…the pot had been boiling since then.”

Commenting on the two judgements, Justice Anjana Prakash said, “Everyone in the court knows that just because one cannot prove the case for lack of evidence, it does not mean the case is false. This behaviour does not suit the court, it is not by standard procedure and rules. It is very unfortunate.”

At the end of the event, passing observation, tribunal member Justice Prakash said, “The question is not how injustice is being practised, the larger question is how to deal with it. What we heard today is not new. We went to the court for justice, but what has happened is a grave injustice.”

Virginius Xaxa also observed that the recent judgements of the Supreme Court have given immunity to the State and strengthened the executive.

The tribunal was organised by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, and National Alliance of People’s Movements.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post ‘Grave Injustice’: People’s Tribunal on SC Judgements in Zakia Jafri, Himanshu Kumar’s Petitions appeared first on SabrangIndia.