Demonising dissent: GN Saibaba’s death and the dark side of UAPA’s manipulation | LME EP 45

From 2014 to 2022, 8,719 people were charged under the draconian UAPA. A majority are languishing in jail, with trials delayed and bail denied, as in the case of Professor GN Saibaba. Arrested in 2014, the wheelchair-bound Saibaba was kept in solitary confinement, accused of Maoist links. Saibaba's case highlights not only the manipulation of evidence but also the blatant abuse of power by authorities, often aided by compliant courts. The persecution of Saibaba, along with other high-profile UAPA cases like those of Father Stan Swamy and Siddique Kappan, demonstrates how the state has weaponized literature, witnesses, and fabricated evidence to suppress dissent. Public opinion is swayed by a media that demonizes activists and scholars, branding them as terrorists without focusing on the actual facts. In this week’s Let Me Explain, Pooja Prasanna looks at how jails mistreat people, how courts are complacent in denying justice and the blatant abuse of power by the police and governments where evidence and witnesses are fabricated or manipulated.