URGENT ACTION - INDIA

URGENT ACTION -

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indian environmentalists denied bail again

Two human rights defenders and environmental rights campaigners, Ramesh Agrawal and Dr Harihar Patel, have been denied release on bail by the high court. They have been jailed for a month in state of Chhattisgarh after their arrest on false charges on 28 May.
 
Ramesh Agrawal's lawyers informed Amnesty International that, following the Chhattisgarh high court's decision to reject their petitions, the two activists will appeal to India's Supreme Court for release on bail. 

Ramesh Agrawal works for the environmental rights organization Jan Chetna, and Dr Harihar Patel, who practices indigenous medicine, were arrested on 28 May in Raigarh town. They have been actively campaigning against the pollution caused by existing industrial projects and the potential negative environmental impact of proposed industrial projects in central Chhattisgarh, and have raised their concerns in mandatory consultations conducted by the authorities. After his arrest, Ramesh Agrawal was kept chained to a bed in a hospital where he was being treated for hypertension. After three days, the police removed the chain following protests that he was being treated in a cruel, inhuman and degrading manner.
The two activists are at the forefront of the campaign for the public disclosure of information relating to these projects which affect Adivasi (Indigenous) communities and for ensuring that these are available to the communities. Their arrest, Amnesty International believes, is intended to stop their peaceful campaign activities. They have been charged with "circulating defamatory material", "disrupting public order" and "causing alarm and panic among the public" at a mandatory public consultation held by the state authorities at Tamnar on 8 May 2010.
The consultation related to the expansion proposal of a coal-fired thermal power plant run by the private firm Jindal Steel and Power. Concerns were expressed that the expansion would result in the forcible acquisition of lands from local communities by the authorities. Objecting to the proposal, the two activists had cited an official inspection report which stated that the expansion began before the mandatory clearances were given. Ramesh Agrawal also successfully petitioned India's Ministry of Environment and Forests to temporarily suspend the terms of reference for the expansion. Following a complaint relating to the delay, the state authorities arrested the two activists.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in English or your own language:

n  Calling on the authorities to drop the false charges against Ramesh Agrawal and Dr Harihar Patel and release them immediately;

n  Asking them to take all necessary measures to guarantee that human rights defenders and environmental activists in Chhattisgarh are able to carry out their legitimate and peaceful human rights activities without fear of harassment and intimidation.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14 JULY 2011 TO:

Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
Dr Raman Singh
Chief Minister's Niwas
Raipur 492001, India
Email: cmcg@nic.in cm-cg@nic.in
Salutation: Dear Chief Minister


Minister of Environment and Forests
Jairam Ramesh
Paryavaran Bhavan
Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003, India
Email:  jairam54@gmail.com
Salutation: Dear Minister


Minister of Home Affairs
P Chidambaram
North Block
Ministry of Home Affairs
Government of India
New Delhi 110 001, India
Salutation: Dear Minister

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.

Check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.  

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Posted By :-


Sangeet Gopal Kayastha 

APYN YOUTH AMBASSADOR for NEPAL