To: The Prime Minister
Prof. Manmohan Singh
The Prime Minister
Raisina Hill
New Delhi
India
Dear Prof. Manmohan Singh,
Abdul Nasar Maudany, a Muslim religious scholar and the founder of People’s Democractic Party (PDP), Kerala has been in Bangalore Jail since August 2010 for his alleged role in the Bangalore blasts of 2008. He was incarcerated using the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and has been refused bail several times by the Karnataka High Court in the past few months. When the plea reached the Supreme Court this May it was further referred to a new Bench following differences between the two judges. While Justice Markandey Katju, who headed the bench held that there was not sufficient evidence against Maudany and that he should be granted bail, Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra, opined that the phone calls (untaped) that Maudany made to some of those allegedly involved in the blast was enough evidence against him. Eventually on May 13 the new Bench denied bail to Maudany.
This is a clear repetition of his earlier history when he was wrongfully confined to the four walls of prison for almost ten years from 1998 to 2008 without being granted bail, for his alleged role in the Coimbatore blasts. At the end of these ten years Maudany was released without any charges being proved against him!
In the present case which has landed Maudany in jail once again, there is hardly any evidence against him. In fact, most of the witnesses the Karnataka police produced to use the draconian UAPA against him have come out publicly to deny their own statements to the Police. When K K Shahina, a reporter with Tehelka, wrote an article about these patently illegal acts of framing Maudany in Tehelka (Vol 7, Issue 48, Dated December 04, 2010), the Karnataka Police immediately registered a case against her under Section 506 and later under UAPA for allegedly intimidating the witnesses. This is in spite of the fact that Shahina is a well-known journalist in Kerala and outside.
Maudany is an excellent example of the way in which the Indian State has been systematically subjecting the religious minorities to numerous violations of their rights, all of which are done in the name of its ‘war against terror.’ The innocent Muslim youths who were tortured and falsely implicated in the Mecca Masjid blast case in Hyderabad, the young students who were shot dead by the police in Batla House, Delhi and many other such cases are shocking instances of gross violations of the basic rights of the minorities in India. One would not be accused of exaggeration to note that Maudany’s case has once again become another one of those endless cases on Muslims in India, perpetually tried without any evidence! In fact, it took ten years for the Indian Justice system to realize that there is no evidence available to sentence him in the Coimbatore blast case. This should also be seen in the light of the fact that the Indian State is trying to repress any kind of voice that questions its increasingly anti-people agendas as is clear from the now famous incarceration of Binayak Sen. In the case of Maudany, the mainstream media, especially the ‘reputed dailies and TV channels,’ have played an important role in profiling and feeding into the politics of Islamophobia by circulating his image as a dangerous terrorist, often based on his religious and Islamic perspectives. He has not only become an easy victim of the media trial but also the Karnataka Police who under the BJP Chief Minister BS Yeddyuruppa finds in him another convenient target in their hate politics.
It is beyond doubt that Maudany has become a target due to his unique political stance which threatened to topple various hegemonic consensuses in Kerala. Your intervention is of utmost significance to put an end to the blatant incarceration of this political figure so as to ensure his unconditional release.
Release Maudany Campaign
Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP)
Sincerely,
The Undersigned (sign by clicking on the link)
