‘Just For Exposing Hate’
Mohammed Zubair, a prominent fact-checker and co-founder of AltNews, expressed his shock at the Uttar Pradesh police not just filing a case against him but also adding serious charges that amount to sedition.

While speaking to The Quint, Zubair recalled how he may have become accustomed to threats and complaints filed in the past, but the UP police on 26 November informed the Allahabad High Court that they added section 152 of the BharatiyaNyayaSanhita (BNS) — “act endangering unity, sovereignty and integrity of India”, which carries life sentence or a prison term for up to seven years and a fine.

“This was alarming as ‘endangering sovereignty’ crosses the limits. I had only posted about YatiNarsinghanand which was done by many other handles before or even after me. But his Narsinghanand’s supporters filed the case against me,” said Zubair

Notably, on 3 December, a Bench of Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar of Allahabad High Court recused from hearing a plea filed by Zubair seeking protection from arrest in the case.
Aliza Noor, The Quint

Protest in Delhi University
On 27th November, AISA along with other organisations of Delhi University held a protest at the gate of the Vice Chancellor’s office demanding immediate termination of the Principal of ShaheedBhagat Singh College, Arun Kumar Attree. Since there has been a complaint filed by Sumit Chauhan, a Dalit student of SBSC of physical assault and casteist abuse, the police are yet to file an FIR. Even after ten days.

Students and teachers demanded that Attree be removed from a position which gives him access to tamper with evidence and inquiry. At the protest, AISA DU President Shantanu spoke, “We have filed the complaint more than a week back. The police are shamelessly delaying the inquiry giving enough time to Attree to play his move. We demand that he be immediately removed from his position of power which he is known to abuse.”

Prof AbhaDev Habib, Faculty at Miranda House said, “our University has been surrendered to casteistlumpens who feel that they have complete immunity. We stand with Sumit and we will make an example out of Attree that DU will not tolerate casteism!” Prof Rudrashis Chakraborty, faculty at KMC said, “we salute Sumit and his brave fight against casteism. The VC must answer how Attree gets this liberty to do so to a student.”

A delegation consisting of Prof Abha Dev, AISA DU President Shantanu and Sumit along with other students submitted a memorandum at the VC Office demanding the removal of Arun Kumar Attree from SBSC and aid in the police inquiry.
ML Update

Targeting Children
The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network is now launching an international campaign to demand world governments hold Israel accountable for its war crimes against Palestinian and Lebanese children–to the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child–principles which prioritise the inherent right to life and uphold the best interests of all children. The former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has derogatorily referred to Palestinians as “human animals”, while Israeli President Isaac Herzog has stated, “there are no innocent civilians in Gaza”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has further inflamed this narrative by comparing Palestinians to Amalekites and describing the situation in Gaza as a struggle between the “children of light and children of darkness”. In 2015, a Facebook post by Israel’s Justice Minister AyeletShaked’s described Palestinian children as “little snakes” to justify their collective punishment UNICEF reports that the war on Lebanon continues to wreak havoc on the lives of children, causing serious physical injuries and lasting psychological trauma. In Gaza, the situation is particularly dire, with clear evidence that children are deliberately targeted. A poignant letter to President Biden from 45 doctors who volunteered in Gaza described treating children with injuries that appeared to be deliberately inflicted. They unanimously reported, “Specifically, every one of us on a daily basis treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head and chest.” Every day, children face violence, fear, loss, displacement, hunger, and devastation. They are being killed at an unprecedented rate. They are dying because of forced starvation and disease. They have lost homes, loved ones, and the safety to which they have a right. Those who survive are being stripped of their childhood. In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Palestinian children face escalating violence and displacement due to Israeli military actions and systematic settler violence (Human Rights Watch, April 2024). This situation has seen increasing levels of child casualties, with a threefold spike in the killing of children since October 2023–since then, a child has been killed every two days. Israel remains the only country that systematically prosecutes children in military courts, a clear violation of international law.
Palestine-Global Mental Health Network

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 26, Dec 22 - 28, 2024