New Delhi
\nResponding to the continuing imprisonment of Muslim student activist Atikur Rahman under the draconian UAPA solely for peacefully exercising his human rights and despite his deteriorating health condition, Amnesty International India said Rahman\u2019s arbitrary detention must end.
\n\u201cIt is a travesty for the Indian authorities to keep Atikur Rahman in detention for almost two years on bogus charges solely for peacefully exercising his human rights. It seems the authorities are on a vindictive quest to further crush him by making his life unbearable, including by denying and delaying his medical treatment. Rahman should not have been detained in the first place. His arbitrary detention must end,\u201d said Aakar Patel, chair of board for Amnesty International India.
\nThe global rights watchdog\u2019s statement comes day after Rahman who was under treatment at a hospital in Lucknow since 29 August after his health deteriorated, was arbitrarily sent back to Lucknow jail despite having critical health issues.
\nPatel said: \u201cRahman must be released immediately and all politically motivated charges against him dropped. Pending his release, the Indian authorities must ensure that his detention conditions are improved in line with international standards and that he has immediate and regular access to his family and any healthcare he may require. Subjecting Rahman to inhumane conditions and failing to provide adequate medical treatment is a human rights violation.\u201d
\nTwo years ago, on 5 October 2020, Atikur Rahman along with journalist Siddique Kappan, Jamia Millia Islamia student Masood Ahmad and taxi driver Mohammad Alam was arrested in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. They were on their way to meet the family of a Dalit woman who was raped and murdered by a group of men from the dominant Hindu caste in Hathras.
\nThe Uttar Pradesh police charged them with \u2018sedition\u2019, \u2018promoting enmity between groups\u2019, \u2018outraging religious feelings\u2019 and \u2018criminal conspiracy\u2019 under the Indian Penal Code and \u2018raising funds for terrorist act\u2019 and \u2018conspiring to commit a terrorist act\u2019 under the UAPA.
\nIn November 2021, Rahman was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for an open-heart surgery after his family filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court.
\nSince March 2022, he has been hospitalised multiple times. His medical documents state in addition to an existing heart ailment, he has now developed a neurological disease. The left side of his body has been paralyzed and he suffers from memory loss.
\nRahman\u2019s wife Sanjida Rahman said to media that Atikur Rahman\u2019s left side has completely paralyzed and he is no longer able to recognize anyone. \u201cHe didn\u2019t even recognize his sons on the video call. My sons keep asking if he\u2019ll ever recognize them again,\u201d she said.
\nAtikur Rahman was a Ph.D. student at Meerut\u2019s Chaudhary Charan Singh University and also the national office bearer of Campus Front of India, a student movement. He was also active during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi Responding to the continuing imprisonment of Muslim student activist Atikur Rahman under the draconian UAPA solely for peacefully exercising his human rights and despite his deteriorating health condition, Amnesty International India said Rahman\u2019s arbitrary detention must end. \u201cIt is a travesty for the Indian authorities to keep Atikur Rahman in detention for almost […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282360,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-282346","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n