---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: manisha sethi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Forum for Democratic Initiatives 15-D, DDA Flats, Sarai Jullena New Delhi Tel: 9868038981, 9811625577 Press Invite * * Senior lawyers to address Press Conference against repeated communal assaults on Human Rights lawyer Mohammad Shoaib (Lucknow Court) * * *Speakers: * *Justice Rajinder Sachar* *Prashant Bhushan (Senior Counsel, Supreme Court)* *Colin Gonsalves (Senior Counsel, Supreme Court)* *Vrinda Grover (Senior Counsel, Supreme Court)* Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC) 5, Windsor Place, New Delhi 19th August (Tuesday) 4 pm onwards For the past many months, the Uttar Pradesh government led by Mayawati has been raising the bogey of Islamic terrorism to argue for repressive laws such as UPCOCA on the lines of MCOCA. The UP police and STF have routinely picked up several Muslim youth on charges of being suspected terrorists. These include Aftab Ansari (Gorakhpur), Naushad and Yakoob (Bijnore), Tariq (Azamgarh) and Mohammad Khalid (Jaunpur). No credible evidence has been brought forth to support these claims. Most notable is the case of Aftab Ansari who belongs to Gorakhpur district who was arrested by the CID on 27 December 2007 on a tip-off from the UP STF. It was charged that Aftab alias Mukhtar alias Raju Bengali was a hard-core terrorist of HuJI and had supplied RDX for attacks on Sankatmochan temple at Benaras, serial attacks at Gorakhpur, bomb blasts at courts in Benaras, Faizabad and Lucknow. He was also claimed to have been arrested with 1.5 Kg of RDX. After continuous torture for 22 days, neither West Bengal CID nor UP STF could substantiate their allegations. Instead, proof provided by the mother of the accused in his favour was upheld and he was released. The UP STF and West Bengal CID later pleaded that it was a case of mistaken identity. Mohammad Shoaib, a lawyer practicing at the Lucknow Court, had taken up the cases of many of these young boys, and had been instrumental in the acquittal of Aftab Ansari. Since then, he has been the target of attack by many lawyers wherever he appeared—in Faizabad and Lucknow, and has been threatened, manhandled and abused by a group of lawyers, who resented his defence of these boys. - Most recently, on 12th August, Mohammad Shoaib was brutally assaulted by a band of lawyers, while he was in the court to appear in the Session Trial 162/ 2008 and 163/ 2008 (Naushad versus the State). It was only at the intervention of others present in the court that he was rescued. His FIR was not registered in the Wazirganj thana. - On 13th August, he sent a copy of his complaint through registered post to the SSP Lucknow and hand delivered his complaint to the District Judge. Following this, the same group of lawyers again attacked him in the court premises. His clothes were torn, spectacles broken and he was forcibly paraded throughout the court premises. - It was later learnt that Advocate A.M. Faridi was also assaulted in his chamber on 12th August for the same reason. Such attacks militate against the very process and principles of justice enshrined in the Constitution. All accused enjoy a fundamental right to recourse to justice, and these are attempts to obstruct that very process. The case of Aftab Ansari illustrates how the prevailing atmosphere of suspicion, prejudices and police excesses can lead to gross miscarriage of justice. This, coupled with repressive laws and denial of legal recourse will only lead to greater discontent and alienation. We do hope that you will send your correspondent/ reporter to cover the press conference and carry a story in your newspaper/ magazine/ channel. Manisha Sethi Radhika Menon Forum for Democratic Initiatives --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
