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Seema Azad Verdict: Another Attempt to Silence the Critical Democratic
Voice: PUDR Press Release

10th June 2012
*Seema Azad Verdict: Another Attempt to Silence the Critical Democratic
Voice*

PUDR strongly condemns the verdict of a lower Court in Allahabad awarding
life sentence to Civil Rights activist Seema Azad and her spouse Vishvvijay
on charges of sedition, waging war and under several provisions of the
draconian law, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Additional
District Judge Sunil Kumar Singh, while pronouncing the order, also slapped
a fine of approximately Rs 70,000 on the couple.  The couple were arrested
from Lukerganj locality in Allahabad on February 6, 2010 by the Special
Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh, which claimed that Maoist literature was
recovered from their possession and that they were associated with a banned
organization, the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Their arrests were
made by the Special Task Force, but the case was later handed over to the
Anti-Terrorism Squad of UP making it a case involving terrorist activity.

Seema Azad’s incarceration and sentence is a clear case of silencing
dissident voices. Her arrest followed Seema’s active chronicle of people’s
movement. She was actively associated with women’s liberation front till
2001 and with the revolutionary students’ movement till 2004.  Seema is
also an active member of PUCL, Uttar Pradesh. Furthering her concern
towards violation of people’s rights she brought out a new magazine,
Dastak, which carried out a thorough investigation of the Ganga Expressway
plan which threatened to displace thousands of farmers. She published the
findings of her survey in form of a booklet and distributed copies. Dastak
also published a long report on the arbitrary arrests and torture of Muslim
youth in Azamgarh. Seema’s arrest came in the wake of the growing efforts
to sensitize people of violation of their rights and other concerns
relating to human rights. Seema and Vishvvijay’s arrests were a move to
crush such efforts on the pretext of containing efforts of incitement
against the government. Following the detention, bail petitions were
presented in court many a times. Each time the petition was rejected for
Seema’s ‘dangerousness’ to the status quo constructing a civil rights
activist into a naxal. Seema’s conviction is one of the many cases where
proscription under UAPA shows its true colours. By banning an organisation
as "terrorist" and thereby banning even its literature, it becomes possible
for authorities to target anyone by accusing that person of having links
with a banned organisation. Thus legitimate activities become unlawful and
therefore offensive.

PUDR staunchly denounces the judgement as being representative of the
efforts of the government to squash critical voices and extends support to
the cause taken up by activists such as Seema Azad.

Paramjeet Singh
Preeti Chauhan
(Secretaries)