* Criminal Intimidation*** *A Muslim lawyer is attacked in High Court for defending terror accused*
*SRAWAN SHUKLA** Lucknow* **AS HE headed to work at the High Court on August 12, lawyer Mohammed Shoaib was prepared for trouble. He was already the subject of controversy for representing terror suspects in various courts around Uttar Pradesh, despite pressure from other lawyers across the state to fall in with a blockade against defending them. The pressure intensified after he secured an acquittal for one of his clients this January (the police, red-faced, admitted to a case of mistaken identity). He was even forced to withdraw from a case after an assault on April 5 at the Barabanki court, followed by another at the Faizabad court in May. However, he continued appearing for those on trial at the High Court, and was in the court on the afternoon of August 12 when about 25 lawyers stormed the court house. Shouting that Shoaib was "the one fighting cases for Pakistanis", the group advanced upon him and proceeded to thrash Shoaib and his junior, Mohammed Rizwan, who was trying to protect him. Kicked and dragged out of the court room, a shaken, injured Shoaib later attempted to lodge an FIR at the Wazirganj police station. The FIR never materialised. The barbaric assault on Shoaib was not enough for his attackers. They next turned on AM Faridi, another Lucknow High Court lawyer contesting terror cases and also known for having successfully represented a terror accused acquitted last year. Faridi had sensed trouble all day ever since he saw a group of unknown lawyers aggressively at large about the court premises. "When I heard them shout maaro, maaro and 'Pakistan Murdabad', I rushed out of my chambers to see what was happening," he told TEHELKA. Next he knew, he had been surrounded — "they said my family would be eliminated if I did not withdraw from the terror cases" — and was slapped and kicked before his colleagues managed to rescue him. While the incidence of terror strikes in Uttar Pradesh has indeed grown over the last three years, the response from the state's legal fraternity has been characterised by a preference for mob justice, with no remote resemblance to the tenets of jurisprudence as upheld by the Constitution. Even before trials start, the "judgement" is already delivered in shouted slogans outside the court; during trial, groups of lawyers storm courtrooms and assault the terror accused and their counsel at will. Whimsical resolutions are passed declaring that terror suspects will receive no legal representation; other proclamations call for stigmatising and ostracising lawyers like Shoaib and Faridi who dare defy the embargo (When Lawyers Turn Judges, TEHELKA, 26 April) . The first such "resolution" was issued by the Faizabad Bar Association warning lawyers against representing those suspected of involvement in the Ayodhya blasts of 2005; the Varanasi Bar Association followed after the attack in that city in 2006. The poison has spread to other parts of the country with similar fiats being issued by lawyers' associations in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. When Shoaib was unable to get his FIR registered, he sent his complaint by registered post to Lucknow's Senior Superintendent of Police, Akhil Kumar, and also lodged a complaint with the district judge the next day, August 13. Enraged, his assaulters returned once again to drag him out of his chambers and beat him in the court premises during lunch hour. "No one will come forward to save you if you don't mend your ways," they told Shoaib as blow followed blow. His band was snatched, clothes torn, spectacles broken and punches to his face and eyes left him virtually paralysed for a few minutes. He was then stripped to his undergarments, marched around the court premises and forced to raise slogans like "Hindustan Zindabad, Pakistan Murdabad". A large police posse was present but did not intervene. The matter was brought to the notice of senior High Court Judge Justice PK Kant, who sought a report on the incident from the district judge. Lawyers and members of the Movement against Terrorism (MAT), an organisation spearheading a campaign to ensure legal aid to those charged with terrorist activites, called an emergency meeting later on August 13. Subsequently, a delegation met Lucknow District Magistrate Chandra Bhanu to demand security cover for both lawyers. But neither was any FIR lodged nor was any security provided. On August 14, a group of senior lawyers, including the legal advisor of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Zafaryab Jilani, went to the Lucknow High Court. They, too, were assaulted. Attempts were made to set fire to Faridi's chambers, where he had locked himself in. "I don't know how I managed to give them the slip and escape with my life," says a terrified Faridi. It took the police an hour to reach the court, whereupon they promptly lodged an FIR against Jilani, Shoaib, Faridi and others on a complaint lodged by the Lucknow Bar Association (LBA) executive member Anurag Trivedi. The matter is now "under investigation". "A group of lawyers with criminal antecedents is attempting to divide the fraternity on communal lines," says Jilani. "Unfortunately, the state and the police are also supporting them in denying justice to the accused. They fear that they would stand exposed if ever their cases were contested on legal grounds," he alleges. ON AUGUST 18, regrouping after the Independence Day weekend, the LBA held an emergency meeting and passed a resolution expelling both Shoaib and Faridi. Their fault: defending terror accused. The LBA has also written to the Oudha Bar Association for the expulsion of Jilani, and has sought a probe into the assets of the three lawyers and has demanded electronic surveillance on their mobile phones to check their alleged anti-national activities. "We have identified about 40 such lawyers who are helping and abetting traitors and anti-nationals. We will debar them and will not allow them to enter court," warns LBA secretary GN Shukla. Both Shoaib and Faridi are contesting several terror cases in different courts in the state. "I am not intimidated by these violent acts", says Shoaib. Observes AIMPLB spokesperson Rahim Qureshi, "Acts like these are what lead to the communal divide. The Constitution should not be interpreted with such a mindset or our democratic values will be eroded." The UP Bar Council has also taken serious note of the incident. Condemning the attack, it has asked the perpetrators to show restraint. Assuring action against the guilty, it has also suggested using alternative means for terror trials like video-conferencing or shifting these cases to other states. "The Council will not show any laxity in initiating action against the guilty after seeking their explanations. There will be no compromise on maintaining the decorum of the court and the dignity of the profession," says UP Bar Council Chairman AN Singh. Calling the expulsion absurd, former Advocate General SMA Kazmi is disturbed at its implications. "These three lawyers have in no way violated professional ethics as envisaged by the Constitution and the Advocates Act", he says. Adds Justice (Retd) RB Mehrotra, who is also the state president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, "It is sheer goondaism. The Bar Council should seek an explanation and act." According to KK Roy, secretary (Allahabad Zone), Human Rights Law Network, "It was a well-designed campaign by the Sangh Parivar to saffronise and communalise the legal community." Adds Jameel Azmi, vice-president of the Allahabad Bar Association, "We are against terrorism but also against innocent Muslims being falsely implicated as terror suspects." Such incidents have dealt a severe blow to the call given by Muslim scholars to India's Muslims to fight terror. MAT and human rights activists have convened a secular conference in Lucknow on August 31. "If attacks against terror accused and their counsel do not stop, we will launch a countrywide campaign to seek justice for innocent Muslims," warns Maulana Khalid Rashid, the organisation's convenor. • *WRITER'S EMAIL [EMAIL PROTECTED] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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