By TCN Special Correspondent,
‘Release Seema Azad, Vishwa Vijay and all Arrested under Such Laws’
New Delhi: Several human rights organizations, civil society groups and eminent individuals organized an Anti-Emergency Convention, here in the capital on Tuesday, marking the 37th anniversary of the emergency. The convention demanded the release of human rights activist Seema Azad and her husband, Vishwavijay, who were recently granted life-term imprisonment by a local court of Allahabad, UP. The speakers at the convention raised serious concerns about draconian laws like UAPA, AFSPA, NSA, its state versions apart from section 124 of IPC, and said that the government should scrap it as these are tools of oppression and injustice.
Veteran journalist and former Member of Parliament, Kuldip Nayar, while inaugurating the convention said, “It is unfortunate that the situation today is not very different from the black days of emergency”. “During emergency, the government imposed censorship on the press. But some of us fought back. Similarly today, people need to fight back rather than depend on the government,” he added, while recollecting his memories of the emergency days. He appealed to the younger generation to come forward and oppose the undeclared emergency of our times.
Commenting upon the conviction of Seema Azad and Vishvijay, former Justice of the Delhi High Court Rajendra Sachchar said “the judgment of the local court is based on little evidence and little application of mind”. He said, he would contact the state government and request them to withdraw the case, adding, “The only allegation against her is that she was in the possession of literature that the prosecution argued was illegal. But between possessing literature and committing an offence is a wide chasm that cannot be bridged by the flimsy arguments brought forth by the prosecution and accepted by the judge”. Earlier senior counsel at Allahabad High Court and lawyer in the case, Ravi Kiran Jain termed the judgment absurd, pointing out that no investigation was carried out beyond the FIR filed.
Talking about hundreds of activists and ordinary people languishing in jails across the country on the charges of being either a Maoist or a Terrorist, human rights activist Dr Binayak Sen, who was convicted and is on bail in a similar case said, “I took this message while walking out of the prison that it is our duty to fight for thousands who are imprisoned for no reason.” He further said, “The case of Seema and Vishwavijay is identical to my case and I will campaign for them along with others”.
Highlighting the cases of communal witch-hunt in the name of counter terrorism, civil rights activist Mahtab Alam argued, “Along with other marginalized communities like Adavasis and Dalits, the Muslim community today is living in a state of emergency”. He said, “First they are being ghettoized, besieged and then branded dreaded terrorists”. He also expressed serious concerns about attacks on the prisoners booked under the charges of terror. “The Muslim youth is under deep distress and afraid of being picked up and put behind bars for no reason,” said Alam.
PUCL national secretary, Kavita Srivastava, while concluding the convention said “this is just the beginning of our campaign and we will widen this in the coming days”. She also informed the gathering that another convention would be organized in the first week of August. She further appealed to write letters of solidarity and send birthday cards to Seema Azad, on the occasion of her birthday on 5th of August.
The convention ended with a Mashal Juloos from Gandhi Peace Foundation to ITO and was attended by a large number of activists, journalists, academicians and eminent citizens.
For more details contact:
Kavita Srivastava- 09351562965