It is possible for prison walls
To disappear,
For the cell to become a distant land
Without frontiers:
What did you do with the walls?
I gave them back to the rocks.
And what did you do with the ceiling?
I turned it into a saddle.
And your chain?
I turned it into a pencil.
To disappear,
For the cell to become a distant land
Without frontiers:
What did you do with the walls?
I gave them back to the rocks.
And what did you do with the ceiling?
I turned it into a saddle.
And your chain?
I turned it into a pencil.
– Nazim Hikmet
As we are all aware, Hem, a student and
known cultural activist of this campus has been languishing behind
bars for about two years now framed under fake charges and being
repeatedly denied bail. On 5th February (Thursday), yet again, the
Aheri Sessions Court in Maharashtra has rejected Hem Mishra’s bail
petition. Hem was arrested in August 2013 and has been falsely
charged of being a ‘naxal courier’ under the draconian UAPA. His
petition for bail was heard for the first time in September 2014,
after spending more than 13 months in prison! Continuous delaying of
hearings and rejections of bail to under trials is a routine design
of the state machinery which makes mockery and reverses the claim of
“bail the rule, and jail an exception”. Without being provided
even the fundamental right to timely & speedy trial, Com. Hem has
been incarcerated in solitary confinement in the notorious Anda Cell
of Nagpur Central Jail for several months now, along with many others
who have been targeted and framed by the Indian State. We, the
undersigned organizations and individuals from the Defense Committee
for the Release of Hem and all other Political Prisoners strongly
condemn the rejection of bail to Com. Hem.
Arbitrary arrests and framing of
activists like Hem and countless other democratic right activists
only goes on to show that in this country an individual can be
arrested for even her/his thoughts! When laws like UAPA hounds anyone
for questioning the government of the day and its policies, it
criminalizes our right to dissent. Moreover, the forms of torture
meted out to prisoners even put the notion of ‘democracy’ under
trial. The oppressive high structures of the Anda Barracks in which
many like Hem are confined, with negligible ventilation and almost no
human contact is in designed to crush the spirits of all those who
raise their voices against the anti people policies of the
government. And in such times of brutal repression and clampdown, we
stand united against the targeting of political activists and
resolutely demand the immediate and unconditional release of all
political prisoners. We appeal to all progressive forces and student
community to join us in protest at the Maharasthra Sadan on 13th
February (Friday) at 3 pm against the repeated denial of bail to Com.
Hem and his continued incarceration.
Defense Committee for the Release
of Com. Hem and all other Political Prisoners
All India Students Association(AISA),
All India Students Federation (AISF), Birsa Ambedkar Students
Association (BAPSA), Campus Front of India (CFI), Dastak, Democratic
Students Union, IPTA, Jagriti Natya Manch, Janrang, Jan Sanskritik
Manch, JNUSU, Krantikari Naujawan Sabha (KNS), Revolutionary Cultural
Front (RCF), Students Federation of India (SFI), Students Islamic
Organisation (SIO) The New Materialists (TNM), United Dalits Students
Forum (UDSF)
- See more at:
http://sanhati.com/event/12853/#sthash.ax7VCqUX.dpuf
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