Unconditional release of political prisoners demanded

The Committee for Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) and various politicians, academicians and cultural personalities Thursday demanded the "unconditional release" of all political prisoners and the abolition of "black laws".

In a joint appeal, Magsayay award winning writer-activist Mahasweta Devi, Lok Sabha MP Kabir Suman, and Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) MP Tarun Mandal alleged that a large number of political prisoners are languishing in jails without facing trial.

The CRPP said as many as 300 alleged Maoists are languishing in the state's prisons while 40 members of the banned Islamist students' outfit, Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), are behind bars.

It also said that as many as 1,500 Gorkha Janmukti Morcha members are in jail besides 60 convicted political prisoners, including Patitpaban Halder and MLA Probodh Purkait.

The activists also called for the withdrawal of bans imposed on various organisations.

"Our demand is to release the political prisoners unconditionally," said Arun Chakraborty of the CRPP's West Bengal chapter.

The organisation, formed by citizens from all walks of life, seeks the improvement of prisons and living conditions of prisoners.

"They have been arrested under some 'anti-terror' laws, or dubbed activists or supporters of banned organisations," he said.

"The government of Mamata Banerjee has not unconditionally released political workers till now.

"On the contrary, we are seeing with deep concern that tribal youths and pro-democracy activists are being incarcerated on different pretexts or by calling them Maoists," said the appeal.

The appeal was also signed by writer Nabarun Bahattacharya, poet Tarun Sanyal, academicians Goutam Bhadra, Sunando Sanyal and Mirat Un-Nahar and painter Samir Aich, among others.

They alleged that the present regime not only showed scant respect to Bengal's tradition of releasing political prisoners unconditionally.

"The state government, contrary to its electoral pledges, is maintaining a stony silence on the issue, not to speak of unconditional release," said Chakraborty.

The CRPP will hold its second conference Dec 14-15 at the Muslim Institute here.