Kozhikode: Thaha Fasal, who got bail in the Pantheerankavu UAPA case a few days ago said that there are Stan Swamies in Kerala too. In an exclusive telephone interview with Mathrubhumi.com, Thaha shared views on UAPA cases in Kerala.

According to him, the shock and dismay we project in UAPA and many other industrial cases in India are hypocritical as the home department in Kerala too are overtly charging many under draconian laws and many are going through the ordeal faced by Stan Swamy.

"We pretend that in Kerala nobody is charged under draconian laws such as UAPA. It seems we project ourselves that the system here is valuing human rights. That is false. We need to stop this hypocrisy. We have Stan Swamies in Kerala too. Likewise, the Pantheerankavu UAPA case is not an isolated case. There are many other cases," he said.

Explaining the context in Kerala further, Thaha referred to the plight faced by Wayanad's Ibrahim, a person nearing his 70's who has been in jail for more than six years, booked under UAPA and is an undertrial prisoner. He also cited the ordeal of S Danish, an activist in his 30's, who received bail in several cases against him, but the Kerala Police repeatedly charged him with fresh UAPA cases.

"We talk at length about the plight faced by Fr Stan Swamy. We condemn that the person did not receive straw and sipper. But we are silent about Stan Swamies in Kerala. For instance, Ibrahim is a diabetic. He survived two heart attacks. He has lost his teeth due to various ailments. Notably, this is a pandemic period too. I don't know why the state is not intervening to address such issues. Similarly, it is important to note that Kerala police behaved in an orchestrated manner to maintain Danish in prison," Thaha pinpointed.  Not just those who are booked under UAPA cases, but also the concerns of undertrial prisoners need to be addressed, he added.  

According to Thaha, "if details about UAPA cases are  disclosed, then the government might have to accept in public that the use of UAPA and other draconian laws in Kerala is not rare".

Meanwhile, it is important to note that few days before in the Kerala Assembly, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan evaded KK Rema's question about the number of persons charged under UAPA cases during the previous term of the LDF government and the allied details.

The Chief Minister cited 'national interest' as a justification. Ironically, it is on the same day that the Supreme Court in the Pegasus case observed that the state cannot "get a free pass every time the spectre of national security" is raised.