Speakers at a seminar in Boston, US, highlighted the cause of political prisoners, and how political dissent is being met with repression the world over.
they said
incarcerated activists known as the Bhima Koregaon 16 (BK16) – BK 15 after the death of Father Stan Swamy in custody – are India’s best thinkers and public intellectuals. While working with and defending people’s rights through various platforms they also held the state accountable to the people.
‘State’s complicity’
The state’s complicity in Father Stan Swamy’s death is evident in its denial of timely medical treatment to him after he contracted COVID-19 in prison. They even refused minor requests like providing a drinking straw which he needed due to his Parkinson’s disease,
The
BK15 remain incarcerated under the draconian Unlawful Activities
Prevention Act (UAPA) which denies them bail, leading to lengthy periods
of imprisonment. The Boston-based Arsenal Consulting firm’s investigations
clearly showed that malware was used to plant evidence on the computers
of activists like Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling. Yet their cases do
not come up for hearing before the high court,
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