'Hope Rests On Speedy, Fair Trial': Gautam Navlakha's Statement Before Surrender To NIA

“My hope rests on a speedy and fair trial for myself and all my fellow co-accused,” civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha said in a statement released on Tuesday, hours before he surrendered to the National Investigation Agency.

Navlakha, along with Anand Teltumbde and other rights activists, has been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for allegedly fomenting violence at Bhima Koregaon event in 2018.

The Supreme Court had on March 17 rejected Navlakha and Teltumbde’s pleas for anticipatory bail and directed them to surrender within three weeks.

On April 9, the Supreme Court granted the two another week to surrender.

Teltumbde surrendered before the National Investigation Agency in Mumbai’s Cumbala Hill on Tuesday afternoon.

Navlakha surrendered at the NIA headquarters in New Delhi.

In a statement released hours before his surrender, Navlakha wrote: “Draconian provisions of UAPA are not accompanied by stricter procedures regarding evidence, especially electronic, considering the stringent punishment provided for under the Act; the procedures, which otherwise provide tighter rules regarding evidence, are instead made elastic. Under this double whammy, jail becomes the norm, and bail an exception. In this Kafkaesque domain, process itself becomes punishment.”

The UN Human Rights Commissioner had earlier this month urged all nations to release “every person detained without sufficient legal basis, including political prisoners, and those detained for critical, dissenting views” in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his statement, Navlakha wrote,“I am affected by the fear that my near and dear ones harbour about my captivity amidst Covid19. I cannot help but feel disappointed that the terse order of the Supreme Court on 8th April had no reference to the Covid19 pandemic, which has overtaken the world, including all of us in India.”

You can read his full statement here .

Read: ‘I See My India Being Ruined’ — Anand Teltumbde Writes Open Letter A Day Before He Is To Be Arrested