I am asking for your help in fighting a nasty bit of repression in Kerala, India.
A couple of friends of mine, Thushar Sarathy and Jaison Cooper, have been in jail for over a month with--so far--no charges and bail refused. They are being held under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, a law so brutal that it makes the Patriot Act look like the Bill of Rights. You can read more about the case in the report of the Asian Human Rights Commission. For those who indulge such things, there is also a Facebook group for Jaison and Thushar which I helped start.
As a quick way of letting the authorities in Kerala know that eyes outside of India are watching them, we are circulating a letter which we are asking published authors to sign. Signatures have started flowing in. If you want to add yours, or have writer friends who would be willing, please send me a message here at DKos or email me at doneil@igc.org so we can verify the addition.
The text of the letter is below the Orange Ouroboros. And I will paste in the first ten signers as my first comment.
To the Chief Minister & Home Minister of Kerala,
We are authors, writers of fiction and non-fiction, of history, verse, biography, criticism, textbooks and more. We are very much concerned with freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
As writers, we call on you to release Jaison C. Cooper and Thushar Nirmal Sarathy immediately and to drop all charges against them. They are not accused of any criminal actions, but merely of speaking out against injustice, repression and exploitation in India. Thushar Sarathy has authored a critique of the very law under which he is now imprisoned!
Here in the US we have spoken out against similar attacks in the form of the Patriot Act and resurgent McCarthyism. We do not consider that our commitment to defending free speech on behalf of the downtrodden stops at our own borders.*
One voice from India we have heard here is that of Arundhati Roy. This internationally respected writer spoke out on behalf of Jaison and Thushar as soon as they were arrested. We know that she herself has been threatened with arrest by politicians and government officials there, and that global protests have played some small role in keeping her free.
We that hope you will heed our voices in this instance as well, and end the jailing and repression of Thushar and Jaison.
Sincerely,
*The initial signers of this letter all reside in the US. Authors from any country are welcome to sign.