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Petitions:

Act now to demand the release of the BK16!

Since 2018, Indian authorities have arrested 16 activists under a draconian anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. 11 of them continue to languish in prison without trial. The repression of activists must end. 

Sign the petition: India’s Heroes Forgotten (10/12/2022)

 

Bhima Koregaon – Human Rights Defenders in Jail

Postkartenaktion von InSAF India:

Join InSAF India in writing solidarity messages to the BK-16. InSAF India will regularly collect the messages and send them to the Taloja and Byculla prisons: Postcard to Prison #postcardtoprison

Solifonds und Zürcher Frauenrechtsgruppe von Amnesty International Schweiz: Petition an die indische Regierung: Wir fordern die Freilassung der 16 politischen Gefangenen des Bhima-Koregaon-Falls (31. 05. 2021)

Petition für Amnesty India: Menschenrechtsarbeit in Indien schützen!

 

Public Actions:

Berlin – 10. Dezember, Tag der Menschenrechte

 

15. August 2021: Mahnwache für Pater Stan Swamy

Video: Solidaritätsaktionen in London, Zürich, Berlin: Demand Justice India: International Protest (20. 08. 2021)

Berlin, Brandenburger Tor

Father Stan Swamy:

“I am not a silent spectator.”

Stan Swamy has been a dedicated advocate for the rights of Adivasi people and Dalits, especially in the State of Jharkhand. On 08 October 2020 the National Investigation Agency arrested him for alleged links to the violence that took place in Bhima Koregaon on 01 January 2018.

Bhima Koregaon:

16 human rights defenders jailed in India because of their commitment to Dalit and Adivasi human rights. One of them, Fr. Stan Swamy, died in police custody on 5 July 2021.

Solidarity with arbitrarily held political prisoners in India in danger to meet the same fate as Stan Swamy. #FreeBK16

Zum Hintergrund: Pater Stan Swamy – Tod im Gewahrsam

 

Juni 2021

Bhima Koregaon 16 – Demonstration in Berlin am 12. Juni 2021

13:15 Uhr gegenüber der Indischen Botschaft, Tiergartenstraße 17

14:00 Uhr am Brandenburger Tor (Platz des 18. März)

Am 12. Juni 2021 treffen sich die Regierungschefs der G-7-Länder in Großbritannien zu ihrem 47. Gipfeltreffen. Eingeladen sind diesmal auch Indien, Südkorea und Australien. Damit stellt Indien sich in den Kreis der Staaten, die als neue Gruppe der Zehn Demokratien (D-10) gelten, geeint durch das Bekenntnis zu Multilateralismus und Menschenrechten.

Zur gleichen Zeit befinden sich in Indien Menschenrechtsverteidiger_innen, die sich gewaltlos für die Rechte der ärmsten und schwächsten Bevölkerungsgruppen einsetzen, in Haft. Sechszehn von ihnen, teilweise schon seit drei Jahren ohne Anklage in den Gefängnissen Byculla (Mumbai) und Taloja (Navi Mumbai), sind bekannt geworden unter dem Namen Bhima Koregaon – BK16. Es sind:

Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale, Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde, Hany Babu, Stan Swamy, Sagar Tatyarao Gorkhe, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Jyoti Raghoba Jagtab

Zunehmend dramatisch ist ihre Situation durch die Covid-19-Krise geworden, von der die Gefängnis-Insassen in Indien ganz besonders betroffen sind. Doch Haftentlassung gegen Kaution ist bisher nur im Fall von Varavara Rao gewährt worden.

Weitere Details zum Fall BK16 finden sich hier: https://amnesty-indien.de/bhima-koregaon-16/

Die Indien-Koordinationsgruppe von Amnesty International in Deutschland ruft zusammen mit Amnesty-Gruppen in der Schweiz, Österreich, Großbritannien und anderen Ländern, mit Solifonds (Schweiz) sowie mit zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen in Indien und Gruppen der indischen Diaspora in Europa und USA zum öffentlichen Protest gegen die willkürliche Haft der Bhima Koregaon 16 auf.

 

Februar 2021

Seit dem 30. September 2020 kann das Amnesty-Team in Indien nicht mehr arbeiten. Die Regierung hatte die Konten von Amnesty International India eingefroren. Daraufhin musste die Organisation den Betrieb einstellen und unsere indischen Kolleg_innen wurden entlassen.

Hilf uns, damit die Menschenrechte in Indien weiter geschützt werden. Unterzeichne die Petition an den indischen Premierminister Narendra Modi!

Zur Online-Petition: Menschenrechtsarbeit in Indien schützen!

 

August 2020

Online Petition zum Indischen Unabhängigkeitstag: Dissent Is An Essential Service For The Nation

 

Juli 2020

Amnesty International India ruft zu einer Aktion auf, um das Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung und Dissens zu schützen.

Trage eine Mund-Nasen-Maske, um das Recht zu verteidigen.

Zur Aktionsanleitung: #UnGagDissent: Wear A Dissent Mask To Protect Your Rights

 

Mai 2020

URGENT ACTION: Protestierende gegen Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz in Haft (beendet)

Meeran Haider, Shifa-Ur-Rehman und die im dritten Monat schwangere Safoora Zargar wurden festgenommen, weil sie friedlich gegen das Staatsbürgerschaftsgesetz (Citizenship Amendment Act – CAA) demonstriert hatten. Das Gesetz legitimiert die Diskriminierung aufgrund der Religion und stellt einen klaren Verstoß gegen die indische Verfassung und internationale Menschenrechtsstandards dar. Nach dem Gesetz zur Verhinderung ungesetzlicher Aktivitäten (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act – UAPA) können die drei bis zu 180 Tage oder sogar länger ohne Anklage festgehalten werden – ein Zeitraum, der internationale Standards bei weitem überschreitet. Da das UAPA keine Vorkehrungen für angemessene vorgerichtliche Schutzmaßnahmen gegen Folter und andere Misshandlungen vorsieht und in der Haftanstalt die unmittelbare Gefahr eines COVID-19-Ausbruchs besteht, besteht Anlass zu großer Sorge um die drei Aktivist_innen.

Zur Aktionsanleitung

 

April 2020

Bhima Koregaon 9, Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde

Sudha Bharadwaj, Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferreira, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Rao

Am 14. April wurden die beiden Aktivisten Gautam Navlakha und Anand Teltumbde von Angehörigen des indischen Geheimdienstes festgenommen und wegen ihrer mutmaßlichen Teilnahme an den Unruhen in Bhima Koregaon 2018 unter dem Strafgesetzbuch und dem Antiterrorgesetz angeklagt. Die Festnahmen scheinen politisch motiviert zu sein und mit der Inhaftierung von neun weiteren Menschenrechtsverteidiger_innen im Jahr 2018 zusammenzuhängen, die auch als „Bhima Koregaon 9“ bekannt sind.

Zur Online-Aktion: Gefangene freilassen!

 

Frühere Aktionen (beendet):

März 2020

Urgent Action, Todesstrafe: Vier Männern droht die Hinrichtung. Sie wurden 2012 wegen gemeinschaftlich begangener Vergewaltigung und des Mordes an einer 23-jährigen Frau in Delhi verurteilt. Dies ist ein abscheuliches und unentschuldbares Verbrechen, keine Frage. Dennoch rechtfertigt die Tat nach Überzeugung von Amnesty International nicht die Todesstrafe. Indien hat seit 2015 niemanden mehr exekutiert.

Alle Rechtsmittel in dem Fall sind ausgeschöpft und die eingereichten Gnadengesuche am 2. März abgelehnt worden. Die Todesurteile sollen nun an den vier Männern am 20. März um 5:30 Uhr durch den Strang vollstreckt werden.

Bitte sendet einen E-Mail-Appell oder ein Fax an den indischen Präsidenten und bittet ihn, einzugreifen, die Hinrichtungen zu stoppen und die Todesurteile umzuwandeln, indem ihr diesem Link folgt: https://www.amnesty.de/mitmachen/urgent-action/vier-maennern-droht-die-hinrichtung .

Mehr zu dem Fall in englischer Sprache: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa20/1749/2020/en/ .

 

Meinungsfreiheit – Online Petition:

Defend Peaceful Protests, Defend India’s Right to Dissent! (Jan. 2020)

November 2019

Briefe gegen das Vergessen – Bhima Koregaon 9

Brief an Premierminister Narendra Modi

Die indischen Behörden haben 2018 im Zuge des harten Vorgehens gegen Menschenrechtsverteidiger_innen neun bekannte Aktivist_innen festgenommen. Die Polizei behauptet, die Aktivistinnen Sudha Bharadwaj und Shoma Sen sowie die Aktivisten Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferreira, Sudhir Dhawale, Vernon Gonsalves und Varavara Rao seien an Gewalt zwischen Dalits und Hindu-Nationalist_innen im indischen Bundesstaat Maharashtra beteiligt gewesen.

Zur Online-Aktion  und weiteren Informationen.

 

August 2019

Since one year in prison: Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira:
One year later: process has become punishment, say activists’ family members (The Hindu, 29. 08. 2019)

In 2018, as part of a massive crackdown on human rights defenders in India, nine prominent activists– Sudha Bharadwaj, Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferreira, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves and Varavara Rao– were arrested by the Pune Police.

The police claim the nine were involved in the violence that erupted between Dalits and Hindu nationalists in January 2018 in Maharashtra.

Following the arrests, a smear campaign was launched against the activists. The government claims they are ‘anti-nationals’ working against the country. But the opinion of communities, where the activists work, is entirely different. The ‘Bhima Koregaon 9’ are, to many, national heroes, bravely fighting for the rights of the most marginalised people in India.

The BK9 continue to be imprisoned, pending their trial. The arrests of such important activists is an attempt to derail the human rights movement in India.

Sign your name and demand the immediate release of the Bhima Koregaon 9. Let’s show Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the world is watching.

Profiles of BK9

SUDHA BHARADWAJ

Sudha Bharadwaj is a lawyer, trade unionist and a civil rights activist. She worked in Chhattisgarh for about three decades until her arrest on August 28, 2018 for allegedly “waging a war against the Government of India” amongst other charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code.

Sudha served as the General Secretary of the Chhattisgarh People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Vice President of the Indian Association for People’s Lawyers. She founded Janhit, a collective of lawyers and was also associated with the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha. She also taught law students at the National Law University, Delhi.

In association with the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, Sudha ensured that mine workers, mostly from Dalit and tribal communities in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh receive employment contracts which mandated minimum wages, health benefits and safer working conditions for them.

As a human rights lawyer, she has represented victims of extrajudicial killings and other human rights defenders before the Chhattisgarh High Court and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

In March 2019, Sudha was honoured by Harvard Law School for “astounding contributions of women around the world to the areas of law and policy”.

ARUN FERREIRA

Arun Ferreira is an activist based in Mumbai. He had been organizing marginalised communities against the injustices faced by them since his student years in the 90s, until his arrest on August 28, 2018 for allegedly “waging a war against the Government of India” amongst other charges under the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.

Once before, in 2007, the Maharashtra State Government had arrested Arun claiming that he was in charge of the Propaganda and Communications wing of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). However, seven years later, in 2014, the court acquitted Arun of all charges stating lack of substantial evidence against him in the charge sheet filed by the police. Throughout the trial, Arun was kept imprisoned.

In his book, “Colours of the Cage: A Prison Memoir”, Arun described his life in jail, his experience with a prejudiced criminal justice system and the loneliness of solitary confinement.

SURENDRA GADLING

Surendra Gadling is a human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist based in Nagpur, Maharashtra. He was arrested on June 6, 2018 for allegedly “waging a war against the Government of India” amongst other charges under the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.

Before his arrest, Surendra took up cases of extrajudicial killings by police and other atrocities committed against Dalits and Adivasis in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. He served as a Special Public Prosecutor in dowry-related cases and was also one of the leading lawyers in the case related to the Khairlanji agitation – a protest movement launched after the gruesome caste-murders of a Dalit family in Maharashtra.

Surendra also represented Arun Ferreira in court from 2007 to 2012 and was key in securing his acquittal on all charges.

MAHESH RAUT

Mahesh Raut is an activist who has worked with Adivasi communities in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. He studied at the Tata Institute for Social Sciences, Mumbai and worked as a Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow in 2012 in Gadchiroli. He was arrested on June 6, 2018 for allegedly “waging a war against the Government of India” amongst other charges under the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.

As a Fellow, Mahesh was actively involved in strengthening Gram Sabhas (local self-governance system) in Adivasi areas.

Mahesh is also a co-convener of the Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vilas Andolan, which fights against the displacement of marginalised communities. He has campaigned against mining projects which threaten to displace the Adivasi communities and the local ecology.

SHOMA SEN

Prior to her arrest on June 6, 2018 for allegedly “waging a war against the Government of India” amongst other charges, Shoma Sen headed the English Department of Nagpur University in Maharashtra. Shoma is a member of the Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights and has been a long-time Dalit and women’s rights activist, advocating for the rights of the marginalised communities.

Shoma played a key role in organising legal aid for women political prisoners in the early 2000s. She was part of many fact-finding commissions that looked into the atrocities committed by the security forces in Manipur and allegations of sexual violence against Adivasis in Chhattisgarh.

RONA WILSON

Rona Wilson has worked with the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners and has consistently campaigned for the release of political prisoners in India who were arrested under repressive laws like the UAPA.

She was arrested on June 6, 2018 for allegedly “waging a war against the Government of India” amongst other charges under UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.

Rona was also a key member of the Committee for the Defence and Release of GN Saibaba—a Delhi University professor who was convicted in March 2017 for having links to the Maoists. Despite being severely disabled, Professor Saibaba was held in solitary confinement by the authorities which has further deteriorated his health.

SUDHIR DHAWALE

Sudhir Dhawale is an activist, actor and publisher of the bi-monthly Marathi magazine Vidrohi which focuses on issues relating to labour, land, education, health and caste.

He was arrested on June 6, 2018 for allegedly “waging a war against the Government of India” amongst other charges under the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.

Earlier in 2011, Sudhir was arrested by the Maharashtra Police for “conspiring and waging war against the Government of India”. After more than three years, the courts ordered for the release of Sudhir stating lack of substantial evidence against him.

Sudhir was one of the organisers of the ‘Elgar Parishad’, which was organised by Dalit organisations to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle.

VERNON GONSALVES

Vernon Gonsalves is a Mumbai-based activist who worked for the rights of labourers until his arrest on August 28, 2018 for allegedly “waging a war against the Government of India” amongst other charges under the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.

In 2007, Gonsalves was arrested under the Arms Act and the UAPA. He had remained incarcerated until 2013, when he was finally convicted of the charges but ordered to be released by the court since he had already undergone the period of his sentence as an undertrial.

VARAVARA RAO

Varavara Rao is a poet and civil rights activist based in Telangana. He was arrested on August 28, 2018 for allegedly “waging a war against the Government of India” amongst other charges under the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.

Varavara founded the Revolutionary Writers’ Association. He has been arrested several times in the past, including for conspiring to overthrow the Andhra Pradesh Government but has always been acquitted.

 

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Mai 2019

Parlamentswahlen in Indien – Trolle kontrollieren:

Join our army of digital volunteers and expose abuse silencing women on #IndiaTrollPatrol – TROLL PATROL INDIA

 

 

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November 2018: Solidaritätsaktion für Amnesty India

 

 

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September 2018: Manipur – extralegale Hinrichtungen

 

Hunderte von Menschen in Manipur im Nordosten Indiens haben Familienmitglieder verloren, die mutmaßlich von Sicherheitskräften getötet wurden. Salima Memcha ist eine von ihnen: Ihr Ehemann wurde im Januar 2010 vor ihrem Haus von Sicherheitskräften mitgenommen. Später fand man vor einer örtlichen Polizeiwache seinen Leichnam, auf den mehr als 20 Mal geschossen worden war. Seitdem muss Salima Memcha allein für ihre vier Kinder sorgen. Gleichzeitig versucht sie, den Tod ihres Mannes aufzuklären.

 

 

September 2018: Mahnwache für Gauri Lankesh

 

 

Dezember 2017

Mahnwache für die Opfer der Gaskatastrophe von Bhopal

Remember Bhopal 1984

 

2015

Gewalt an Frauen