‘Release the Bhima Koregaon 16 Immediately’: Nobel Laureates, EU MPs Write to Indian Authorities

New Delhi: Academics, European Union parliamentarians, Nobel laureates and other figures of international prominence have written a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Justice of India, the chief minister of Maharashtra and other Indian authorities demanding the release of political prisoners arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon.

Expressing concern over the incarceration of human rights defenders in prisons in India under “deplorable hygiene conditions” and the absence of appropriate medical care, the letter said that political prisoners were at grave risk of contracting the new and more virulent strain of coronavirus.

The letter, which is addressed to several Indian authorities and copied to the EU Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, sought that the temporary administrative order to release prisoners in light of the outbreak of COVID-19 be applied to India’s political prisoners as well.

The signatories to the letter included noted academic and linguist Noam Chomsky, former President of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention José Antonio Guevara-Bermúdez, Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk and Wole Soyinka, Columbia University professor Partha Chatterjee, Brown University professor Ashutosh Varshney, human rights activist Shahidul Alam, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian UK Alan Rusbridger and journalist Naomi Klein.

The letter pointed out that overcrowded prisons with a shortage of water and medical equipment posed a serious health risk to political prisoners – many of whom had already contracted COVID-19 and reported a significant deterioration of their health.

“In a moment of unprecedented national calamity, we ask for decisive action by the government and court to set the BK-16 at liberty to avert further tragedy,” the signatories said and stressed that the political prisoners were facing a “humanitarian emergency”.

“Two of the BK-16 were recently shifted to multi-specialty hospitals after intense advocacy from family members and concerned citizens,” the signatories said and also referred to poet Varavara Rao, who received temporary bail on medical grounds after he was hospitalised for several weeks.

Among those arrested in connection with the case include Sudhir Dhawale, a writer and Mumbai-based Dalit rights activist, Mahesh Raut, a young activist from Gadchiroli who worked on displacement, Shoma Sen, who had been head of the English literature department at Nagpur University, advocates Arun Ferreira and Sudha Bharadwaj, writer Varavara Rao, activist Vernon Gonsalves, prisoners’ rights activist Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, a UAPA expert and lawyer from Nagpur, Father Stan Swamy, Delhi University professor Hany Babu, scholar and activist Anand Teltumbde, civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha, and members of the cultural group, Kabir Kala Manch: Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Ghaichor and Jyoti Jagtap.

The entire statement has been reproduced below.

10 June 2021

We urge the immediate release of human rights defenders in India into safe conditions

Accounting for almost a third of deaths from Covid-19 worldwide, the situation in India is grave. We are alarmed that a number of human rights defenders who are currently awaiting trial in Indian jails have developed serious health issues in jail owing to over-congestion and neglect, absence of appropriate medical care, and deplorable hygiene conditions. These political prisoners are now at great risk of contracting the virulent strain of the virus — which some have already contracted — and will have no access to prompt medical care that is necessary to save lives. We therefore urgently seek that the temporary administrative order to release prisoners due to the pandemic be applied to political prisoners in India. We strongly believe that by turning a blind eye to the toll exacted by Covid on those it holds in its custody, the government is in violation of its constitutional duty to safeguard the life of these citizens.

Among the thousands in India arrested for “political offences” is a group known as the Bhima-Koregaon (BK)-16: four academics, three lawyers, two independent journalists, a union organizer and social activist, a poet, three performing artists, and a Jesuit priest. A majority of them are senior citizens, some of whom have comorbidities that render them particularly vulnerable. All are human rights defenders with a record of writing, speaking and organizing for the rights of workers, minorities, Dalits, and Adivasis through peaceful and constitutional means. As the deadly second wave of Covid rages, with an equally serious third wave anticipated, the overcrowded prisons face severe water shortage and lack the medical equipment and personnel necessary to fight Covid. At least six of the arrested have contracted Covid-19, others have reported various acute infections and a rapid deterioration of health. Two of the BK-16 were recently shifted to multi-specialty hospitals after intense advocacy from family members and concerned citizens. Last year, one of the 16, an 80-year old poet, received temporary bail on medical grounds after weeks of hospitalization, at a moment when it was feared that he may die in custody.

In a moment of unprecedented national calamity, we ask for decisive action by the government and court to set the BK-16 at liberty to avert further tragedy. When the prison is unable to provide for the health and safety of the prisoners, the family has a right to offer such care as they deem necessary. None of the prisoners is deemed a flight risk. We acknowledge that while the Bombay High Court allowed three of the 16 arrested to be transferred to private hospitals, there is a humanitarian emergency facing all these political prisoners, whose lives are in grave danger from Covid-19.

With this letter, we call on the Indian authorities to take urgent and prompt action:

Release the BK-16 from overcrowded and unsafe prisons immediately.

Allow them to be cared for by their kin.

Show compassion and responsibility in order to avoid catastrophic consequences.

Ensure them their constitutional right to live and die in dignity.

Signatories

José Antonio Guevara-Bermúdez, Former President of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
Olga Tokarczuk, Polish writer, Nobel Prize for Literature 2018
Wole Soyinka, Nigerian writer, Nobel Prize for Literature 1986
Margrete Auken, Member of the European Parliament
Idoia Villanueva, Member of the European Parliament
Alviina Alametsä, Member of the European Parliament
Lord Harries of Pentregarth, Member of the House of Lords, UK
Caroline Lucas, Member of Parliament, UK
Apsana Begum, Member of Parliament, UK
Clive Lewis, Member of Parliament, UK
Mick Barry, TD, Member of the Irish Parliament
Michel Brandt, Member of the German Bundestag
Eva-Maria Schreiber, Member of the German Bundestag
Heike Hänsel, Member of the German Bundestag and Vice-President of Left Parliamentary Group, Germany
Christine Buchholz, Member of the German Bundestag and deputy member of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid
Mattea Meyer, Member of the Swiss Parliament
Cédric Wermuth, Member of the Swiss Parliament
Fabian Molina, Member of the Swiss Parliament
Tamara Funiciello, Member of the Swiss Parliament
Pierre Yves-Maillard, Member of Swiss Parliament, President of the Swiss Trade Union Federation
Katharina Prelicz-Huber, Member of Swiss Parliament, President of the Swiss trade union VPOD-SSP
(Rt Revd Dr) Rowan Williams FBA, Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Former Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Revd Ted Penton, SJ, Secretary of Justice and Ecology, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States
Vania Alleva, President of the Swiss trade union Unia
Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor and Professor of Linguistics Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
Homi K. Bhabha, Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University, USA
James Silk, Binger Clinical Professor of Human Rights, Yale Law School, USA
Gyan Prakash, Dayton-Stockton Professor of History, Princeton University, USA
Judith Butler, Maxine Elliot Professor, Department of Comparative Literature, University of California at Berkeley, USA
Signe Kjelstrup, Principle Investigator, Center of Excellence, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
Arjun Appadurai, Paulette Goddard Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University, USA
Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History, University of Oxford, UK
Talal Asad, Distinguished Professor, City University of New York, USA
Gyanendra Pandey, Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor, and Director, Interdisciplinary Workshop on Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, Emory University, USA
Victor Wallis, Professor, Berklee College of Music, USA
Michael Morris, Chavkin-Chang Professor of Leadership Management, Columbia University, USA
Ashutosh Varshney, Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences, Brown University, USA
Ash Amin, Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge, UK
Partha Chatterjee, Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University, USA
Akeel Bilgrami, Sidney Morgenbesser Professor of Philosophy, Professor, Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University, USA
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University, USA
Maryse Condé, French-Guadeloupean novelist and laureate, Professor Emerita, Columbia University, USA
Paula M. L. Moya, Danily C. and Laura Louise Bell Professor of the Humanities, Stanford University, USA
Ueli Maeder, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Former Dean at the University of Basel, Germany
Joshua Castellino, Executive Director, Minority Rights International and Professor of Law, Middlesex University, London
Wolfgang Kaleck, Lawyer and Author, Berlin, Germany
Alan Rusbridger, Former Editor-in-Chief, the Guardian UK and board member, Committee to Protect Journalists
Naomi Klein, Journalist, Author, Filmmaker, Activist, and Gloria Steinem Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies, Rutgers University, USA
Vince Warren, Lawyer, New York, USA
Jennifer Robinson, Barrister, UK
Alejandra Anchieta, Founder and Executive Director, ProDESC, Mexico
Sarah Ahmed, British-Australian Writer and Independent Scholar
Srećko Horvat, Philosopher and Council Member, Progressive International
Ilija Trojanow, Bulgarian-German Writer
Amit Chaudhuri, Novelist, Essayist, and Musician
Shahidul Alam, Photographer, Writer, Curator and Human Rights Activist
Ahdaf Soueif, Novelist, Political and Cultural Commentator

Endorsing organizations

InSAF India (International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India)
India Civil Watch International (ICWI)
Sikh Council UK
PEN Canada
English PEN
PEN International
American Sociological Association
Hindus for Human Rights
Global Secular Hindu Forum
Solifonds Switzerland

To:

The Hon’ble Chief Justice of India,

Justice N.V. Ramana,

Supreme Court of India,

Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110001

The Hon’ble Chief Justice,

Justice Dipankar Datta,

105 Bombay High Court,

(P.W.D.) Building, Fort, Mumbai 400032

The Hon’ble Justice A.A.Sayed,

Member of the High Power Committee,

105 Bombay High Court,

(P.W.D.) Building, Fort, Mumbai 400032

The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India,

Mr Narendra Modi,

Prime Minister Office,

South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi 110011

The Hon’ble Home Minister of India,

Mr Amit Shah,

Ministry of Home Affairs,

North Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi 100011

The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra,

Mr Uddhav Thackeray,

Maharashtra CM Office,

Government of Maharashtra,

6th Floor, Mantralaya, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400032

The Hon’ble Home Minister of Maharashtra,

Mr Dilip Dattaray Walse-Patil,

Mantralaya, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400032

Mr Anand Limaye,

Additional Chief Secretary, Home (Appeal and Security),

Member of the High Power Committee,

Home Department, Mantralaya, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400032

Shri Sunil Ramanand,

Additional Director General of Police (Prisons),

Member of the High Power Committee,

OId Central Building, 2nd Floor, Pune-1

Copy to:

Mr Nils Menzer,
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights)

Ms Leigh Toomey,
Chair-Rapporteur, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

Ms Dunja Mijatovic,
EU Commissioner for Human Rights

Ms Mary Lawlor,
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders,
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights)

Mr Gerard Quinn,
Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities,
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights)

Ms Irene Khan,
UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights)

Ms Rosa Kornfeld-Matte,
Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights)

Ms Tlaleng Mofokeng,
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights)

Signatories

Endorsing organizations

Further reading

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