Justice For All Welcomes The Release Of Indian Political Prisoners: Dr Kafeel Khan and Sharjeel Usmani

Justice For All’s Save India From Fascism Project welcomes the decision by the Allahabad High Court on the release of Dr. Kafeel Khan, a pediatrician at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College and Hospital was arrested on January 29 for allegedly making the “provocative speech” and incarcerated at the Mathura district jail. He was charged under the National Security Act on February 13, and his detention was extended twice. He was addressing a gathering of AMU students who were protesting against the Citizen Amendment Act and the proposed NRC.

“I am being victimized as I have questioned the state government,” said Dr Kafeel Khan on his release. “I was accused of making an attempt to topple the state government.” He added that he was  tortured for 8 months, and was kept hungry and thirsty for 5 days.

In addition to Dr. Khan, Justice For All also received the news that Sharjeel Usmani, a PhD student activist has been released, and Farhan Zuberi, a student leader from Aligarh Muslim University, is slated for release.

JFA had submitted victim reports for all three of these individuals, and we are proud to have been involved in that effort.

“While their release is welcome, we would like to remind everyone that their ordeal is far from over. The Indian government has shown a disdain for proper process and peaceful protests. It has stifled fair and free reporting, and has created a culture of intimidating and punishing protestors. All fair minded Indian citizens need to stand against this,” stated Zahir Adil, Program Director for the Save India from Fascism Project.

Justice For All will continue to monitor these cases, and will formulate further actions on this on a continued basis.

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