Fwd: 7th September, 5.30PM: Welcoming Seema Azad: at Hindi Bhawan- opposite GPF
Combating State Repression, the attack on Human Rights Defenders & demanding the repeal of draconian laws Welcoming Seema Azad and Vishwa Vijay and taking the struggle forward 7th September, 5.30PM Venue : Hindi Bhawan, 11, Vishnu Digambar Marg, (Road opposite Gandhi Peace Foundation) next to Gandharva Mahavidhyalaya, New Delhi Dear friends, The mood was grim on the 13th of June when some of us met for the first time at Gandhi Peace Foundation in Delhi, after Seema Azad (editor, Dastak and Organising Secretary, UP PUCL) and her husband Vishwa Vijay had been convicted for life, supposedly for waging war against the Indian Government. There was a lot of anger as the conviction had happened without any evidence whatsoever. The discussion on the judgement and how the courts were manipulated by the UP Police and the prosecuting agency made us shudder that justice was almost out of reach for those caught in the name of Maoism, as we have seen it in the past for those caught in the name of Terrorism. Some of us were even angry that activists had not mobilised enough or not raised their voice sufficiently demanding justice for them. A campaign was born on the 26th of June which spread to all over India demanding the withdrawal of the undeclared emergency, the release of Seema Azad, Vishwa Vijay and others on whom cases had been fabricated and the repeal of the law on sedition and other draconian laws. We can confidently say that our campaign was successful as the civil liberties of Seema Azad and Vishwa Vijay were restored on the 6th of August when the Allahabad High Court granted them bail along with the observations that holding views different from the Indian state was not a crime. Seema Azad and Vishwa Vijay have been now out for a month after spending two and a half years in jail. As discussed earlier, on the 7th of September we will be welcoming these two who struggled against the law on sedition and other security provisions of the IPC and the UAPA. It is important to sit together and take the discourse further that began in June and strategically plan what to do next regarding the release of other prisoners, repealing the law on sedition and combating the increasing state repression. It is also important that we continue widening the group and strengthen each other collectively. All are Welcome Please be at at 5.30PM at the Hindi Bhawan, 11, Vishnu Digambar Marg, (Road opposite Gandhi Peace Foundation) next to Gandharva Mahavidhyalaya, New Delhi. We are, People's Union for Civil Liberties, Jan Hastakshep, Citizens for Democracy (CFD), People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), Jan Saskriti Manch, Samkaleen Teesri Duniya, NAPM, HRLN, AIPWA, NFFWFP, Safai Karamchari Andolan, INSAF, CPHRD, AISA, Pratirodh.com and PDFI, For more details : contact :Kavita Srivastava : 09351562965, Ashish Gupta : 9873315447, Mahtab Alam: 09811209345, N D Pancholi: 09811099532, Anand Swaroop Verma: 09810720714, Bhasha Singh: 09818755922, Madhuresh: 9818905316 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en.
