More than 35 concerned citizens and representatives of civil liberties organisations in India wrote a letter to the authorities in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, 20 September, seeking urgent medical intervention to ensure quality care and bail on medical grounds for jailed student leader Atiq-ur-Rehman, who has been struggling with partial paralysis and disorientation after heart surgery.
Rehman, the former treasurer of Campus Front of India (CFI), was arrested by the UP police on 5 October 2020, while travelling to Hathras with journalist Siddique Kappan. He was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sedition.
The signatories to the letter included academics, civil liberties activists, journalists, lawyers, student leaders, and authors.
Noting that Rehman's bail application will be heard on Wednesday, 21 September, the letter said that the treatment meted out to him violates both the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules) as well as the right to health for all persons guaranteed under the Constitution.
"The state and its agencies must ensure a prisoner’s right to health and comply with provisions of both Article 21 of the Indian Constitution as well as the Nelson Mandela Rules with respect to all prisoners," the letter said.
'Death of Stan Swamy a Grim Reminder of...'
It also cited the examples of Stan Swamy and Pandu Narote, both of whom died while in prison.
"The fact that Fr Stan Swamy of the Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy case and Pandu Narote serving life sentence in Nagpur Jail, died while in judicial custody is a grim reminder of what neglect of the right to health in prisons can lead to," it said.
The letter further said that at the time of his arrest, Rehman was one month away from a heart surgery.
"Rehman is a patient of aortic regurgitation, a condition of the heart in which the aortic valve does not close tightly," the letter said.
It also noted that it was only after repeated petitions before the court, over a year after his arrest, that he was finally allowed to travel to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to have the heart surgery.
However, he was moved back to the prison post his surgery, and his condition has subsequently worsened due to "a lack of post-surgery medical care."
"By denying Atiq-Ur Rehman the right to an appropriate level of medical care, which has resulted in a deterioration of his health, the prison administration is denying him his constitutional right to health care, dignity and imperiling the most fundamental of rights, the right to life itself," the letter asserted.
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