Several activists, lawyers, journalists, members of parliament and students came together in solidarity with those imprisoned in the northeast Delhi violence conspiracy case of 2020. A public meeting titled “The Last Line of Defence – Dissenters in Democracy,” held on 26 July at the Press Club was organised by the APCR – Association for Protection of Civil Rights, and included speakers such as senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, CPIM MP John Brittas, CPIML MP Raja Ram Singh, Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil, known educationist Syeda Hamid, journalist Saurav Das and legal scholar Gautam Bhatia.
Four years after the Delhi pogrom, twelve individuals accused in the case remain incarcerated with their bail applications pleas consistently denied. Among them are rights defenders Umar Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima, Sharjeel Imam, Shifa Ur Rehman, Khalid Saifi, Meeran Haider, and others. All have been charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and have been held without bail or trial.
Umar Khalid, whose numerous bail pleas have been denied, stands accused of being a “key conspirator” in the “riots.” The majority of those killed were Muslims, and yet the accused are largely from the same community. Gulfisha Fatima, an MBA graduate, has been labelled the “mastermind” behind the “riots” and faces serious charges, including murder, rioting, unlawful assembly, and sedition.
The moderator of the event, Nandini Sundar, Professor at Delhi University, initiated the press meeting by highlighting the ongoing injustices faced by political prisoners. She began by saying, “While we continue our normal lives, Umar Khalid has been in jail for four years, and each day that each of them is in jail is something that we should be deeply ashamed about.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
