Police charge nine Muslim men under draconian UAPA merely for raising slogans
Police in the southern Kerala state on Friday booked nine activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI), which was banned last week, for raising slogans in support of the outfit, under provisions of the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In the state’s Nedumkandam area of Idukki district, seven PFI activists held a march on Wednesday in support of PFI and against the Hindu supremacist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). They were arrested and booked under UAPA.
Seven other PFI members were arrested in Thiruvananthapuram district on Thursday. Two of them were booked under UAPA.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu supremacist government on September 27 banned the PFI, a prominent Muslim organization. Over 350 people have been arrested in dozens of raids by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) since then.
After PFI ban comes censorship as Modi orders social media to scrap all mentions
The Modi government took yet another anti-democratic step on Friday by ordering that social media companies scrub all mentions of the PFI.
The federal government sent out an advisory about the significant increase of posting “communally provocative” content on social media and urged states to take steps to monitor and curb the misuse of the internet, arguing without evidence that the content could lead to communal violence.
The advisory also called for blocking user accounts by following Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). It stressed the importance of enhanced and heightened security arrangements, especially at locations where communal tensions are sensitive.
Federal interior ministry orders PFI offices in Delhi, India’s capital, sealed
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday ordered the sealing of three PFI offices in Delhi, India’s capital. The Home Ministry alleged that the PFI carried out illegal activities at the three locations.
Over 200 members and associates of the PFI have been arrested over the last week in dozens of raids around the country.
Earlier this week, the Home Ministry announced a five-year ban on the PFI saying that the organization was linked with global terrorist organizations and invovled in terror cases. The government has also begun freezing PFI’s bank accounts.
Supreme Court shifts jailed activist Gautam Navlakha to Mumbai for cancer Treatment
The Supreme Court has ordered that human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, who is suffering from colon cancer, be shifted to Mumbai for treatment. Navlakha, 70 was jailed four years ago on the bogus charges of masterminding violence in Maharashtra.
Navlakha has been charged under India’s draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which has been globally criticized as undemocratic.
The order by Justices K. M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy said: “We are of the view that receiving medical treatment would be a fundamental right. We direct that the petitioner be taken immediately for a thorough medical check-up.”
The court ordered that Navlakha will remain in police custody during the hospitalization.
