The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Youth were arrested on false charges, subjected to torture’

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Saturday, Aug 23, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘Youth were arrested on false charges, subjected to torture’

Special Correspondent

Ten persons depose before“People’s Tribunal”

Tribunal set up on atrocities against minorities
Jury of the tribunal to conduct sitting for three days

HYDERABAD: Bibi Qatoon from Godhra in Gujarat wept as she narrated her woes of poverty and lack of support in her old age. Her three sons languishing in Sabarmati Central Jail were booked in cases under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). She strongly believed that hundreds of mothers like her would get relief if POTA was relaxed against youth who were arrested in the wake of Godhra incidents in 2001.. Ms. Qatoon was among the ten persons who gave testimonies to the “People’s Tribunal” about atrocities committed against minorities in the name of fighting terrorism here on Friday.

The jury of the tribunal which is conducting a three-day sitting included noted Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer and Justices S.N. Bhargava and Sardar Ali Khan. The tribunal is sponsored by civil society organisations. The speakers lamented that the youth were arrested falsely and subjected to torture by police following bomb blasts in various parts of the country. Iqbal Maqdoomi said, his son Farooq, a physician, was picked up by police when the latter reopened his clinic to treat the injured in the blast at Malegaon in Maharashtra two years ago. The police conducted four narco tests on him while the court’s permission was for only one.

Yaqoob Khan of Coimbatore said, he served sentence for nine-and-a-half years, though he was convicted for only seven years in Coimbatore blasts in 1998. He was aged 17 at the time of his arrest. Mohd. Shoeb, Uttar Pradesh advocate said the alleged mastermind behind the Ahmedabad blasts Abu Basheer was picked up by establishing contact under the pretext of fixing a marriage alliance.

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