CAMPAIGN Against State Repression (CASR) has condemned the arrests of activists like Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, Gulfisha Fatima, Ishrat Jahan, Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider, Khalid Saifi, Shifu-ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha and many others languishing in jail following a 'witch-hunt' by the Delhi Police in connection with the North-East Delhi violence in February 2020. Demanding their immediate release and the release of all such political prisoners, CASR has issued a statement.
According to the statement, the recent arrest of two activist- Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal- is not an isolated incident but part of a larger operation orchestrated by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Delhi Police since mid-February 2020.
"This has been done to bludgeon and break the vibrant struggle for democratic rights that emerged in response to the communally charged and anti-people Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Registry of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR). Even the arrival of the COVID-19 virus and imposition of the country-wide lockdown has not deterred the onward march of this anti-people operation", the statement reads.
Campaign Against State Repression is a platform with over 36 organisations, including democratic rights organisations, student's organisations, teacher's organisations, trade unions and women's organisations, who have come together against increasing state repression, targeting of academics, activists, journalists, lawyers, trade unionists and all such voices of democracy.