Petition: Atikur Rahman – another Stan Swamy in the making! Facilitate bail for seeking urgent medical treatment.

 

Date: 17th August 2021

New Delhi.

 

To,

The President of India.
The Prime Minister of India.
The Chief Justice of India.
The Law and Justice Minister of India.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

The Allahabad High Court

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM)

 

Respected Sir,

           

We are writing to you to express our deep concern regarding the deteriorating health condition of UAPA victim Atikur Rahman, a vibrant student leader and activist who is the National Treasurer of Campus Front of India. Rahman, who was lodged in the district jail of Mathura after being falsely implicated in the FIR No 199 of 2020 attached to the Manth PS and investigated by the Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh has been suffering from a heart ailment called Aortic Regurgitation, which occurs when the heart's aortic valve doesn't close tightly. The family fears, he might die due to heart failure, if he doesn’t get the surgery done at the earliest.

 

"A month before he was arrested in October 2020, he was told to get a Bentall procedure to replace the aortic valve from the doctor in AIIMS. This is why he moved a plea to get him interim bail for 60 days, so he could get surgery in AIIMS," Atikur Rahman’s brother Mateen explains why the family have chosen to move to the High Court with a bail plea now.

 

Atikur Rahman along with Journalist Sidhique Kappan, Masood Ahmed and Alam were booked and confined by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police while on their way to meet the family of the Hathras rape victim. They all have maintained their innocence and clarified that they were on their way as journalists to report on the matter or as activists to express their solidarity with the bereaved family.

 

Despite always co-operating with the investigating agencies and with no compelling evidence to suggest why they should have been kept in prison, the UP Police opposed their bail. The Additional Sessions Court in Mathura too had chosen to neglect the deteriorating health conditions of Atikur Rahman and rejected his statutory bail application u/s 167(2) of CrPC and regular bail application as well as the multiple applications filed on 22/12/2020, 25/03/2021 and the latest on 25/05/2021 seeking 60 days interim bail for heart treatment and medical assistance in the AIIMS.

 

The brutalities meted out by the Mathura jail authorities against Atikur Rahman, Sidhique Kappan and co-accused were out before the public when Kappan’s wife Raihanath detailed the ordeals faced by her husband under detention including being put to starvation for 24 hours. There were reports of them getting chained to hospital beds and not allowed to use toilets that too after being tested positive to Covid. Atikur Rahman being incarcerated under these torturous conditions with a serious heart ailment, we believe is equal to putting his life under threat.

 

Recently, we have seen this happening with the institutional murder of Christian Father Stan Swamy, who after being denied his basic needs and medical assistance breathed his last in Taloja jail, Maharashtra. We hereby convey the anxieties shared by Atikur Rahman’s family regarding the life-threatening situation he is put under in Mathura jail and request early interventions from your part so that another innocent life is not lost in the jail. 

 

The wanton imposition of a draconian law like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the brutal incarceration of innocents and the denial of bail is turning into a perverse exercise of meting out punishment even before a person is found guilty. As a democratic republic committed to the rule of law and natural justice, these violations of basic human rights by those exercising the power need to be reined in.

 

There were media reports in June 2021 that the UAPA accused in this case including Atikur Rahman were not supplied the copy of the charge sheet even two months after a Mathura court took cognisance of it. This we feel is a blatant violation of the fundamental right to a fair trial under Section 207 of the CRPC, which mandates that a copy of the charge sheet be provided to the accused ‘without delay’.

 

While the judicial process must take its due course, we cannot ignore the fact that in too many instances, the due process itself is turning into punishment for scores of under-trials lodged under these draconian provisions. We have seen that such draconian laws are being used to specifically target voices of dissent. We feel it is highly important that such draconian laws demanding zero accountability from the state must undergo judicial review at the earliest.

 

These actions are also contrary to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a State Party and the United Nations Convention against Torture, to which, India is a signatory. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners also forbids the denial of medical assistance to prisoners.

 

We, the undersigned citizens of India, therefore urge you to employ your wisdom and protect the basic human rights of these Indian citizens falsely implicated and incarcerated in the Mathura jail by taking the following actions:

 

·        Safeguard the life of Atikur Rahman and others falsely implicated in the Hathras case and put under life-threatening situations.  Immediately facilitate Atikur Rahman’s transfer to AIIMS, Delhi for heart surgery, as requested by his family.

 

·        Thoroughly investigate the vindictive moves by STF of Uttar Pradesh Police against activists and journalists, whereby they have been unlawfully framed and convicted.

 

·        Review the misuse and abuse of UAPA and provide and issue appropriate directions to the lower courts for the conduct of UAPA trials; and scrap the unlawful provision, section 43D(5) of UAPA as null and void.

 

·        Insist the Union of India and state governments like Uttar Pradesh complies with international law on human rights, treatment of prisoners and fair trials.

 

Signed by: