Hi, Why no kerala news papers are reporting such issues? Why they are keeping dumb to such issues?
Regards, SK On Mon, Sep 1, 2008 at 10:21 PM, Rights Support Centre <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 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] > > > > -- Sunil Kumar.A.V. 09995309174 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
