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“Both are accused of something for which there is no evidence, and in fact the accusation itself was not only far-fetched but unclear.”

16 Apr 2020

Following the arrest of activists Gautam Navlakah and Dr Anand Teltumbde on April 14 in a case related to the Bhima Koregaon violence, publishers from around the world have raised questions on the accusations that led to their arrests and appealed to the people to “stand against their arrest”.

A statement signed by Sudhanva Deshpande, Vijay Prashad, K. Sivakumar, Simón Vázquez, and Qalandar Memon among others reads: “Both are accused of something for which there is no evidence, and in fact the accusation itself was not only far-fetched but unclear.”

“The arrest of the two of them, it is clear, is designed to chill dissent. In prison, they will join others arrested essentially for being critics of the government: Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, and Varavara Rao,” it adds.

Read the full statement below:

On the Arrest of Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde

On April 14, 2020, the Indian government arrested journalist Gautam Navlakha and engineer and author Anand Teltumbde. Both are accused of something for which there is no evidence, and in fact the accusation itself was not only far-fetched but unclear. Anand Teltumbde is, among other things, an author for LeftWord Books (New Delhi); Gautam Navlakha is, among other things, a journalist for outlets such as Newsclick (New Delhi). The arrest of the two of them, it is clear, is designed to chill dissent. In prison, they will join others arrested essentially for being critics of the government: Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, and Varavara Rao.

We, publishers from around the world, offer our solidarity to these writers as they move through the Indian prison system during this global pandemic. We call upon sensitive people of the world to stand against their arrest and the arrest of others who hope for a brighter world, a world without such suffering and malice.

Sudhanva Deshpande

Vijay Prashad

LeftWord Books and Vam Prakashan, New Delhi (India).

K.Nagarajan - Publisher

P.K.Rajan - Editor -Publications

Bharathi Puthakalayam, Chennai (India).

Aniruddha Chakraborty

National Book Agency, Kolkata (India).

K. Lakshmaiah,

K. Usha Rani,

Prajasakthi, Andhra Pradesh (India).

K. Sivakumar