Amnesty International India has sought immediate release of persons arrested over the past few weeks on suspicion of being involved in unlawful activities because they had ‘pro-Maoist’ materials in their houses.

In a statement released by e-mail here on Thursday, Amnesty International India programme director Shemeer Babu said ‘‘mere possession of certain kinds of literature cannot be a ground for arresting someone’’ and urged the authorities to respect the right of citizens to freedom of expression, which included the right to seek and receive information of all kinds. The nature of these arrests and the evidence put forward raised concerns that the cases were politically motivated, he said.

Held under UAPA

The Kerala police had arrested Jaison C. Cooper, a human rights activist, and Thushar Nirmal Sarathy, a lawyer, in Kochi and Kozhikode respectively on January 30 on the ground that these men were supporters of banned armed Maoist groups and had supported an attack on the National Highways Authority of India’s project office in Kochi on January 29. They were arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). However, the investigating officer had admitted that the only existing evidence against the two men were pamphlets and materials ‘supporting Maoist groups’ found in their houses.

On December 24, the police had arrested Sreekanth Prabhakaran and Arun Balan, two college students in Palakkad, under the UAPA for allegedly being involved in attacks on two fast food outlets on December 21 and vandalising the office of a pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer on October 22. The police said they had found ‘pro-Maoist’ leaflets and literature in the houses of the two students.

Says possession of certain kinds of literature not ground for arrests

‘Right of citizens to freedom of expression should be respected’