India - Amnesty seeks release of rights activists held for Naxal links in Kerala

Amnesty International-India on Friday appealed to the Kerala government to release two human rights activists arrested for their “links” with Maoists. The police had arrested Jaison C Cooper and Thushar Nirmal Sarathy from two different locations on January 30 alleging they were involved in the recent suspected Maoist attacks in the state. The police had recovered Maoist literature from their possession. Sarthy, as an advocate, was giving legal aid to two youths earlier arrested for their “connection” with suspected Maoist attacks.

Cooper, a state government employee, was picked up from his office in connection with an attack on the project office of the National Highway Authority of India in Kochi. Sarathy was arrested from Kozhikode when he was coming out of a press conference held to deplore the “persecution” of human rights activists under the “guise” of crackdown on Maoists. They were charged with provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Shameer Babu, programmes director, Amnesty International-India, said, “Indian courts have stated on multiple occasions that mere possession of certain literature cannot be considered a crime. The National Human Rights Commission h