Dear Editors, The Gujarat government is trying to intimidate Citizens for Justice and Peace activists fighting the Zakia Jafri case, by filing an FIR based on trumped-up charges against them.
Some eminent citizens led by historian Romila Thapar have issued a brief (156-word) statement deploring this (attached). We would be grateful if you could carry it in full in your Letters to the Editor column or another prominent space, with the names of all the signatories, as soon as possible. Best regards, Praful Bidwai (on behalf of Romila Thapar) Delhi 10.1.2014 *Revenge the Shape of things to come* Indian citizens have just got a disturbing glimpse of how the state would deal with dissidents and human-rights defenders should Narendra Modi come to power nationally. Hardly had the ink dried on a magistrate’s judgment exonerating Modi in the Zakia Jafri case, when the Gujarat police filed a First Information Report against Teesta Setalvad and other Citizens for Justice and Peace activists on patently trumped-up charges. Eleven months ago, the police had dropped investigations into these very charges after CJP activists explained what they were working towards. The sudden filing of the FIR is evidently in anticipation of CPJ’s decision to appeal against the Jafri case judgment. This follows Gujarat’s well-established pattern of harassment of critics, the intention being to intimidate and silence them. Any attempt to prevent the early filing of an appeal will subvert the process of justice. Such intervention is contrary to the norms of our Constitution and speaks of an anti-democratic mindset. Signed: Romila Thapar, Professor Emerita of History, Jawaharlal Nehru Univesity Justice BN Srikrishna, former judge of the Supreme Court of India Deepak Nayyar, distinguished economist, former Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi Justice PB Sawant, former judge of the Supreme Court and chairman of the Press Council of India Kuldip Nayar, senior columnist and author Nirupam Sen, former Indian ambassador to the United Nations Justice BG Kolse Patil, former judge of the Bombay High Court -- Teesta Setalvad 'Nirant', Juhu Tara Road, Juhu, Mumbai - 400 049 http://teestasetalvad.blogspot.com/ www.cjponline.org www.gujarat-riots.com www.sabrang.com -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
