#Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)

[kimskashmir]

Police files UAPA case against Shia mourners for 'Hezbollah Slogans' during 8th Muharram procession in Srinagar

SRINAGAR — The Jammu and Kashmir Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Shia mourners for raising Hezbollah flags and slogans during 8th Muharram procession in the summer capital, Srinagar. Top sources told Kashmir Dot Com that the slogans were chanted and flags were raised as part of the traditional Muharram observance, which commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.…

[zvaigzdelasas]

Booker Prize-winning Indian author Arundhati Roy could be prosecuted for allegedly seditious comments made over a decade ago, after a top official in Delhi said there was enough evidence to lay charges.

Roy rose to international prominence for her novels, including 1997 Booker Prize winner “The God of Small Things,” but has also published two collections of political writing andlongbeen an outspoken critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[...]

Earlier this month, police in New Delhi raided the homes of prominent journalists linked to a left-leaning news organization known for its scrutiny of the Indian government. Police said they had arrested the outlet’s editor and a colleague as part of an ongoing investigation in connection with India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, an anti-terror law that critics describe as “draconian.��[...]

The case was filed in 2010 over comments Roy made at a conference on Kashmir called “Azadi – the Only Way Ahead” – “azadi” means freedom or liberation and is often used as a slogan for the Kashmiri independence movement.[...]

In her 2010 speech,posted online, Roy spoke about Kashmiri efforts to seek justice, in part for the mass exodus of Hindus from Muslim-majority Kashmir in the early 1990s amid increasing violence.

12 Oct 23

[phenakistoskope]

g.n. saibaba died just seven months after being released from custody. and i hope you haven't forgotten that father stan swamy died while still in jail back in twenty-twenty-one. i consider both these deaths institutional murders. the unlawful activities prevention act (uapa) must be abolished. without its aboltion, the decolonization of the subcontinent is impossible.

[milkboydotnet]

Standing with the Adivasi People and the People's War in India

Since the founding of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in 2004, the Indian state has unfurled relentless counterinsurgency operations, including Operation Green Hunt and Operation SAMADHAN-Prahar, in hopes of destroying the revolutionary movement. The Indian government has liberally used the 1967 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against those it accuses of having links to the CPI (Maoist). Like the Anti-Terrorism Act in the Philippines, which has been used to suppress dissent and target those suspected of links to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People's Army (NPA), this law allows for warrantless arrests and extended periods of detention, robbing the people of basic human rights in the name of "security." Under Narendra Modi’s fascist Brahmanic Hindutva regime, the repression against the people has only intensified.

India is considered a key partner in advancing U.S. strategic interests in Asia, particularly in countering China's influence in the region. This partnership includes joint military exercises, military cooperation, and weapons trade. Like the US-Marcos regime in the Philippines, the killings and massacres committed by state forces in the countryside are growing more frequent under the US-Modi regime.

Operation Kagaar, launched in January 2024, is the latest phase of the Indian government's counterinsurgency efforts. There have been numerous instances of harassment, abductions, torture, rape, aerial bombings, and other forms of fascist attacks against the people, particularly targeting the indigenous Adivasis. The Adivasis, comprise over 8% of India's population (104.2 million, roughly the size of the Philippines' population) and encompass more than 600 tribes primarily located in central India. As of June 2024, Operation Kagaar has claimed 130 lives, including the execution of eight Adivasi peasants in Chhattisgarh on May 24, 2024. The operation's focus has been the Abujhmaad (Maad) region in Chhattisgarh, a remote, resource-rich, mountainous area that is a revolutionary stronghold and home to a significant Adivasi population. The revolutionary movement, led by the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), has found strong roots among the Adivasi people, taking up revolutionary struggle to protect their ancestral lands. In 2006, then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh famously said that the Maoists were India's greatest internal security threat. In 2009, Singh remarked to parliament, “if left-wing extremism continues to flourish in important parts of our country which have tremendous natural resources of minerals and other precious things, that will certainly affect the climate for investment." His words underscore that these attacks on the people are motivated by imperialist plunder. Comrade Venu elaborated further, telling author Arundhati Roy, “They want to crush us, not only because of the minerals, but because we are offering the world an alternative model.” The CPI (Maoist) and the PLGA, through people's war, pose a significant threat to the reactionaries in power by offering the exploited and oppressed masses of the world genuine solutions to their basic problems and a viable alternative to capitalist imperialism. The CPI (Maoist) and the International Committee to Support the People’s War in India (ICSPWI) have called for a campaign to oppose Operation Kagaar and support the resistance of the Adivasi people. The Communist Party of the Philippines, which also wages a people's war and faces many of the same forms of repression including aerial bombings, has declared June 20-July 20, 2024, as a month of solidarity with the Indian struggle.

People Organizing for Philippine Solidarity (POPS) urges all anti-imperialists, progressives, and their organizations, to support the Adivasi people's resistance and the advancement of the people's war in India. We recognize that people's war is critical to ending the reactionary state's counterinsurgency and liberate the broad masses from feudal exploitation and imperialist domination in India, the Philippines, and in all semi-colonial and semi-feudal countries.  POPS stands in solidarity with the Indian people in their struggle against fascism, feudalism, imperialism, and the genocidal Operation Kagaar!

From India to the Philippines: People's War is for People's Peace!

full statement IG post [shortened statement]

[humanrightsupdates]

India: Stop Abusing Counterterrorism Regulations

The global terrorism financing and money laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), should call on the Indian government to stop prosecuting, intimidating and harassing human rights defenders, activists and non-profit organisations in the country on the pretext of countering terrorist financing, Amnesty International, Charity & Security Network and Human Rights Watch said today. FATF members are to start their fourth periodic review of India’s record on tackling illicit funding on November 6, 2023.

Indian authorities have exploited FATF’s recommendations which aim to prevent terrorist financing as part of a coordinated campaign to restrict civic space and stifle the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Draconian laws introduced or adapted to this end include the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Their actions have flouted both FATF’s standards and international human rights law, the groups said.

“The Indian authorities have weaponized laws to crack down on the human rights work by HRDs, activists and non-profit organizations in the country,” said Aakar Patel, chair of board at Amnesty International India. “Authorities are using bogus foreign funding and terrorism charges to target, intimidate, harass and silence critics, in clear violation of FATF standards.”

[beardedmrbean]

Police in the Indian capital, Delhi, have raided the homes of prominent journalists and authors in connection with an investigation into the funding of news website NewsClick.

NewsClick's founder Prabir Purkayastha and a colleague were arrested. Police also seized laptops and mobile phones.

Officials are reportedly investigating allegations that NewsClick got illegal funds from China - a charge it denies.

Critics say the move is an intentional attack on press freedom.

Started in 2009, NewsClick is an independent news and current affairs website known to be critical of the government. In 2021, it was raided by tax authorities on allegations of breaking India's foreign direct investment rules.

The co-ordinated raids at 30 locations on Tuesday are some of the largest and most extensive on India's media in recent years. Police later confirmed they had arrested Mr Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty, the website's head of human resources.

"A total of 37 male suspects have been questioned at premises, nine female suspects have been questioned at their respective places of stay and digital devices, documents etc have been seized/collected for examination," a police statement said.

Opposition leaders accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of a "fresh attack on the media". But Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said investigative agencies were merely doing their job.

How did the raids happen?

Among those also questioned were journalists Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Aunindyo Chakravarty, Urmilesh, Bhasha Singh, popular satirist Sanjay Rajoura and historian Sohail Hashmi. Some were taken to police stations.

Searches were also carried out at the website's office in Delhi, news agency ANI reported.

In Mumbai, activist Teesta Setalvad's house was also searched. Ms Setalvad has long fought for victims of the deadly 2002 riots in Gujarat state and has written articles critical of the government for NewsClick.

A source close to Mr Purkayastha told the BBC that more than 15 policemen arrived at the editor's home at 06:30 local time (01:00 GMT).

"They did not produce any warrants or paperwork, questioned him for several hours and took away all the electronic devices they found at home," they said. Later, news agencies showed him being taken away by the police in a vehicle.

Mr Rajoura's lawyer, Ilin Saraswat, said the comedian was raided at the same time and that police took away his laptop, his two phones, some DVDs of his old work and some documents.

"The police said that Mr Rajoura is not named in the current investigation, but since he has worked with the website, he will be interrogated. We have not been provided a copy of the police complaint," he added.

BBC India offices searched by income tax officials

Indian tax authorities raid critical media outlets

India top court frees Muslim comic on bail

According to reports, the raids are in connection with a case registered against NewsClick in August after a New York Times report alleged that the website had received funds from an American millionaire to spread "Chinese propaganda".

It claimed that Neville Roy Singham worked closely with the "Chinese government media machine" and used his network of non-profit groups and shell companies to "finance its propaganda worldwide".

A case was reportedly registered against the website under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, a draconian anti-terror law that makes it nearly impossible to get bail. NewsClick has rejected all the charges as false.

Who was raided?

All the people who were raided have been associated with NewsClick - some are employees, while others have worked on freelance projects.

Prabir Purkayastha, its founder and editor-in-chief, is the author of a number of books and a founding member of the Delhi Science Forum. During the 1975 Emergency - when civil liberties were suspended - he was jailed along with several opposition politicians.

Bhasha Singh is an activist and journalist who has reported extensively on manual scavenging and farmers' suicides. She has accused the government of being anti-women and on Monday appeared in a NewsClick video expressing concern over the increasing trend of members of the governing BJP praising the man who assassinated India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.

Abhisar Sharma is a prominent video journalist known for his critical views of the government. He worked for BBC Hindi before moving to work at the NDTV news channel. One of his last videos covered widespread protests by government employees against a new pension scheme.

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, writer, journalist and filmmaker, is best known for his investigations into billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani and is facing several defamation suits filed by the industrialist. Earlier this year, he was mentioned in a report by Hindenburg Research which alleged that companies owned by Mr Adani had engaged in decades of "brazen" stock manipulation and accounting fraud - allegations denied by the industrialist who is perceived as being close to PM Modi.

[girlinafairytale]

update: they got charged with UAPA

UAPA (unlawful activities prevention act) is a law that the Indian government frequently misuses to squash dissent and jail people indefinitely without trial. this is so fucked up.

the people of kashmir lead a muharram procession in srinagar and expressed solidarity with the people of palestine.

pc

[odnewsin]

Delhi riots 2020: Expeditiously hear Sharjeel Imam bail plea in UAPA case, SC tells Delhi HC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday told the Delhi High Court to expeditiously hear the bail plea of student activist Sharjeel Imam in an Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case related to Delhi riots which took place in February 2020. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and S C Sharma said it was not inclined to entertain the plea, which also sought bail under Article 32 of the…

[connectingsocial]

Who is Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who became a prominent figure in the pro-Khalistan movement in Canada, was accused by the Indian government of various criminal activities related to separatism and terrorism. India claimed that Nijjar was involved in organizing and financing violent acts to further the cause of an independent Khalistan. Here are the key criminal accusations tied to him:

1. Terrorist Designation by India (2020)

In 2020, India officially declared Hardeep Singh Nijjar a "terrorist" under its Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). This designation was based on accusations that Nijjar had connections to banned militant organizations advocating for the violent secession of Punjab from India to create a Khalistan state.

2. Alleged Involvement in Bomb Plots

The Indian government accused Nijjar of being involved in plotting bomb attacks within India, specifically targeting key locations in Punjab. These plans, according to Indian intelligence agencies, were designed to create unrest and provoke violence to further the separatist agenda.

3. Links to Militant Groups

Indian authorities alleged that Nijjar had close ties with various Khalistani militant outfits, particularly the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF). He was accused of recruiting individuals for these groups, organizing their training, and planning attacks against Indian targets. The Indian government also claimed that Nijjar was coordinating with other separatist leaders in Pakistan to destabilize the Indian state.

4. Involvement in Funding and Radicalization

Nijjar was accused of using his position in Canada to fund and radicalize individuals in support of the Khalistan movement. According to Indian officials, he was involved in raising money through local Sikh organizations and temples in Canada to finance militant operations in Punjab. These operations allegedly included training camps for young recruits.

5. Mastermind of Targeted Killings

Indian security agencies alleged that Nijjar masterminded several targeted killings in India, aimed at eliminating individuals opposed to the Khalistan movement or those working against the separatist cause. These killings were described as part of a broader campaign to instill fear and push for Khalistan’s creation through violence.

6. Interference in Indian Politics

India also accused Nijjar of being part of a larger network of Khalistan sympathizers in Canada who sought to interfere with Indian politics by promoting anti-India sentiment abroad. He was charged with using Canadian soil to propagate propaganda, organise anti-India rallies, and disrupt diplomatic efforts between the two countries.

[news365timesindia]

Lawrence Bishnoi has emerged as one of India's most notorious gangsters, often referred to as the "new mafia boss" due to his rising influence and violent criminal network. His gang operates across multiple states in India, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and even parts of Maharashtra. With over 700 shooters under his command, Bishnoi's criminal empire is vast, resembling the infamous D-Company of Dawood Ibrahim in both structure and operations. Bishnoi's rise to power has been marked by his involvement in high-profile criminal activities, including extortion, drug trafficking, and assassinations. His gang became widely known following the 2022 assassination of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, an act for which his close associate Goldy Brar claimed responsibility. Bishnoi, despite being in jail, allegedly orchestrated this killing, showcasing the far-reaching influence of his syndicate. In recent years, the Bishnoi gang has expanded beyond India, with links to international criminal networks, particularly in Canada. The gang recruits young men by promising them opportunities abroad, often involving them in illicit activities. His operations are heavily reliant on social media to recruit and intimidate, much like modern terror organizations. A defining feature of Bishnoi's criminal career is his ideological stance, rooted in the Bishnoi community’s reverence for nature, particularly the blackbuck species. This belief led to his infamous threats against Bollywood star Salman Khan, who was embroiled in a legal case for allegedly killing blackbucks. Bishnoi's future criminal trajectory is being closely monitored by Indian authorities, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filing charges against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). His gang's rapid expansion, sophisticated use of technology, and ability to coordinate across borders make him a formidable figure in India's underworld. The question now is whether Bishnoi will continue to wield such power from behind bars or if law enforcement will successfully dismantle his widespread network. As of 2024, his gang remains a major threat, with growing ties to pro-Khalistani groups and terror outfits, raising concerns about national security.

[kimskashmir]

JKLF, factions of People's League among 6 groups declared as 'Unlawful Associations' by GoI

SRINAGAR (KIMS) — Three days after declaring Nayeem Ahmad Khan led Jammu and Kashmir National Front (JKNF) as an ‘Unlawful Association’, the Government of India on Saturday declared Jammu and Kashmir based six groups as ‘Unlawful Associations’. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India declared Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) led by Yasin Malik, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples…

[news365times]

Lawrence Bishnoi has emerged as one of India's most notorious gangsters, often referred to as the "new mafia boss" due to his rising influence and violent criminal network. His gang operates across multiple states in India, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and even parts of Maharashtra. With over 700 shooters under his command, Bishnoi's criminal empire is vast, resembling the infamous D-Company of Dawood Ibrahim in both structure and operations. Bishnoi's rise to power has been marked by his involvement in high-profile criminal activities, including extortion, drug trafficking, and assassinations. His gang became widely known following the 2022 assassination of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, an act for which his close associate Goldy Brar claimed responsibility. Bishnoi, despite being in jail, allegedly orchestrated this killing, showcasing the far-reaching influence of his syndicate. In recent years, the Bishnoi gang has expanded beyond India, with links to international criminal networks, particularly in Canada. The gang recruits young men by promising them opportunities abroad, often involving them in illicit activities. His operations are heavily reliant on social media to recruit and intimidate, much like modern terror organizations. A defining feature of Bishnoi's criminal career is his ideological stance, rooted in the Bishnoi community’s reverence for nature, particularly the blackbuck species. This belief led to his infamous threats against Bollywood star Salman Khan, who was embroiled in a legal case for allegedly killing blackbucks. Bishnoi's future criminal trajectory is being closely monitored by Indian authorities, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filing charges against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). His gang's rapid expansion, sophisticated use of technology, and ability to coordinate across borders make him a formidable figure in India's underworld. The question now is whether Bishnoi will continue to wield such power from behind bars or if law enforcement will successfully dismantle his widespread network. As of 2024, his gang remains a major threat, with growing ties to pro-Khalistani groups and terror outfits, raising concerns about national security.

[hindusforhumanrights]

PRESS STATEMENT: HfHR and IAMC Urge Reforms to India’s Anti-Terror Laws

Hindus for Human Rights and Indian American Muslim Council, as two major Indian American civil rights organizations, are calling on Indian leaders to repeal, amend, or bring India’s anti-terror laws, namely the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) into line with international standards and respect Indians’ fundamental rights to express freely their beliefs and political ideas.  Learn More- https://www.hindusforhumanrights.org/en/blog/press-statement-hfhr-and-iamc-urge-reforms-to-indias-anti-terror-laws

[legalwires]

SC: 'Watali' Judgement Not a Precedent for Denying Bail to Long-term Undertrials

The Supreme Court on Thursday while granting bail to an individual accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), stated that the judgment in NIA v. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali cannot be used as a precedent to deny bail in UAPA cases where the accused has endured prolonged incarceration. A division bench consisting of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan overturned…

[ippnoida]

Arundhati Roy to be prosecuted under UAPA over 2010 speech

Delhi's lieutenant governor VK Saxena has given the go-ahead to prosecute writer and novelist Arundhati Roy in connection with alleged provocative statements made at a 2010 event propagating Kashmiri separatism. The author will be prosecuted under Section 13 of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, media reports said. 

Sheikh Showkat Hussain, former professor of International Law at the Central University of Kashmir, will also face action under UAPA for his alleged statements at the same event in New Delhi’s LTG auditorium in 2010.

Eight months ago, the L-G granted permission to prosecute them under Sections 153A, 153B and 505 of Indian Penal Code.

Section 13 of the UAPA deals with advocating, abetting or inciting any unlawful activity and is punishable with imprisonment for up to seven years.

The FIR against was registered in October 2010 on a complaint by Sushil Pandit, following the orders of the Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi. The other two accused in the case — Sayed Ali Shah Geelani, a Kashmiri separatist leader and Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, a Delhi University lecturer — have both died over the course of the proceedings.

[saggsyyyy]

UAPA strikes again!

V.K. Saxena , the Lieutenant - Governor of Delhi, on Friday filed a case under section 13 of the draconian UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) , an act responsible for the perish of multiple dissidents for eons, against the Man-Booker winning novelist , Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain, former professor of law at the Central University of Kashmir.

According to sources, the two in 2010 at the LTG Auditorium, Copernicus Marg , New Delhi at a conference addressed as , " Azadi - The Only Way" , where they had allegedly made polemical statements concerning the political autonomy of Kashmir and it's segregation from India.