‘Voices of accused in Elgar case silenced’

MUMBAI: In an online event organised by People’s Union for Civil Liberties to commemorate two years since initial arrests were made in the Elgar Parishad case, activist and advocate Prashant Bhushan on Saturday said voices of arrested accused like Anand Teltumbde, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha are being silenced as they speak against injustices being meted out on minorities, Dalits and the poor.
Bhushan, with lawyers Rebecca John, Mihir Desai and Kavita Srivastava, was critical of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He said it is vaguely defined. Bhushan was recently convicted by Supreme Court for contempt and sentence may be pronounced on Monday.
The 12 arrested accused are booked under UAPA.
Speakers included family members of the accused. Human rights activist Navlakha’s partner Sahba Husain spoke about his condition in jail, saying that he was not allowed access to basic amenities. “He was in quarantine for over three and half months, probably making him the most quarantined man in the country...,” she said Telugu poet and activist Rao (79) was sent back to Taloja jail last week after being treated at Nanavati Hospital for Covid. His daughter P Sahaja said she hopes her father is genuinely well. “Last we spoke to him on video call on August 18, he appeared very weak...,” she said.
Lawyer and activist, Bharadwaj’s daughter, Maayasha, expressed concern for her mother’s health and anguish over Bombay high court’s rejection of interim bail plea on medical grounds.