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Safoora Zargar

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Safoora Zargar
Born1993 (age 30–31)
Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
NationalityIndian
EducationB.A, Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University MA, M.Phil, JMI
Alma materDelhi University
Known forbeing arrested as a result of taking part in the Citizenship Amendment Act protests
Spouse
Saboor Ahmed Sirwal
​
(m. 2018)​
[1]

Safoora Zargar (born 1993) is an Indian student activist leader from Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, best known for her role in the Citizenship Amendment Act protests.

Zargar was a M. Phil student of Jamia Millia Islamia and media coordinator of the Jamia Coordination Committee. She was in custody from 10 April until 24 June 2020, accused of being part of a conspiracy to cause riots and of making an inflammatory speech on 23 February 2020. Delhi Police said that Zargar was involved in a "sinister design" with the "objective of uprooting a democratically elected government." The Delhi High Court granted Zargar bail at the fourth application on 23 June 2020, and she was released late on 24 June 2020.

Early life and education

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Zargar was born in 1993 in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir.[2] Her father was a government employee.[1] She moved to Delhi in 1998 with her family, when her father was posted in neighboring Faridabad, part of National Capital Region (NCR).[2] When she was five, at school in Delhi, she was the only Muslim in her class.[2] According to Zargar in 2018, the attitude that some people had towards her when she was at school in Delhi at the age of five was: "You are a terrorist, go back to Pakistan".[2]

She graduated with a B.A. from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University,[3][2] she did an M.A. in sociology at Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi),[2][1] and in 2019 started an M.Phil in sociology with special focus on urban studies at Jamia Millia Islamia.[4][1] In September 2022, the university cancelled her admission and banned her entry to the campus stating her involvement in "organizing agitations, protests and marches on the campus against the irrelevant and objectionable issues to disturb the peaceful academic environment" and "instigating innocent students of the University and trying to use the University platform for her malafide political agenda along with some other students."[5]

As of 2020, her father is retired, and her mother a home-maker.[1] She has a sister Sameeya.[4][6]

Political activism

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Zargar was a member of the media wing of the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC).[7] According to Delhi Police, she was one of the founders of the JCC, and "was the admin of JCC's WhatsApp group".[8] In 2020, she joined anti-CAA protests in Delhi. On 10 February 2020 she fainted when she was "caught in a scuffle between the police and students" and was taken to hospital.[9]

Arrest and bail hearings

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She was initially arrested at her residence by Delhi Police on 10 April 2020,[9][7][4] with police claiming she was among those who organised an anti-CAA protest and road blockade under the Jaffrabad metro station in Delhi on 22–23 February.[7][10][11][a] On 11 April she was brought before the Metropolitan Magistrate and remanded in police custody for two days.[7] On 13 April she was granted bail, but immediately rearrested by the police on another charge.[9][7] Additional charges were brought against her on 20 or 21 April.[7][12]

Delhi police have said that the violence was a pre-meditated conspiracy and all arrests have been made based on scientific and forensic evidence.[13] Zargar is also charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).[12]

Since 15 April 2020, she has been held in Tihar Jail. This is an overcrowded prison, and to protect her and her unborn baby from COVID-19, she was held in solitary confinement for almost two weeks.[9][7] Officials of Tihar jail said that she was kept isolated in a single cell, and denied that that constituted solitary confinement because she had been allowed to talk to her family on the telephone at least once.[12] According to a report of The Hindu, "A high-powered committee headed by a Delhi High Court judge directed DG (Prisons) to ensure that adequate medical assistance is provided to Zargar". The report also states that she was arrested in connection with North East Delhi riots.[14]

On 18 April 2020, Zargar's lawyers applied for bail, but this was rejected by the court on 21 April.[15][12][16] They made another bail application on 2 May, but withdrew it in court.[15]

On 26 May 2020, a Delhi court remanded Zargar in custody until 25 June.[17]

On 30 May 2020, Zargar's lawyers again applied for bail, and this was rejected on 4 June by Delhi's Patiala House Court.[18][19][15][16] According to the prosecution, Zargar made an inflammatory speech on 23 February 2020 at Chand Bagh (part of Delhi).[18] Judge Dharmender Rana said, "The acts and inflammatory speeches of the co-conspirators are admissible under Section 10 of the Indian Evidence even against the applicant/accused."[18][20] According to Zargar's lawyers (Ritesh Dhar Dubey and Trideep Pais), though Zargar had briefly visited Chand Bagh on 23 February before the violence started, Zargar delivered her speech that day in Khureji (another part of Delhi).[18] They denied that the speech was inflammatory or provocative.[18] The judge referred to eyewitness statements and a record of a WhatsApp chat, and said "there is prima facie evidence to show that there was a conspiracy to at least block the roads (chakka jam)."[18][20][15][b]

"Noted constitutional scholars, including Gautam Bhatia, have critiqued the reasoning in that order [of 4 June 2020] for Ms. Zargar’s continued detention."[16][22][c] In June 2020, a preliminary report by the American Bar Association said that "International law, including treaties to which India is a state party, only permit pre-trial detention under narrow circumstances, which do not appear to have been met in Zargar's case."[25][16] The report also said that "In addition to her legal issues, Zargar has also been the victim of a slanderous online campaign, including falsified and explicit images of her being shared online and through WhatsApp messenger".[25][16] "Many student groups across Delhi have held protests seeking Zargar’s release",[26] saying that the police had launched "a witch hunt against student activists".[26]

On 17 June 2020, Zargar applied to the Delhi High Court, challenging the 4 June order and seeking bail.[27][28] The application was heard on 18 June 2020 by Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who issued a notice to the police asking them to file a status report on the bail plea.[29] At the hearing on 22 June, the police status report said that Zargar was one of the "main conspirators and the instigator" of riots in northeast Delhi, and was involved in a "web of actions animated by unlawful object of creating terror and disaffection".[26] The police said that Zargar's "protestations of innocence are phony; her actions are neither licit nor legitimate and she is clearly culpable of criminal wrongs of grave magnitude deserving no indulgence from the court".[26]

Part of Zargar's grounds for seeking bail was her pregnancy. However, Indian law makes no distinction on grounds of pregnancy. Delhi Police told the high court on 22 June 2020, that many people in prison in Delhi are pregnant, and that 39 births have taken place inside prison in Delhi during the last ten years.[26][30] According to the police status report, in prison Zargar had her own separate cell, a good diet, and medical attention.[8] "In fact, more care and caution are being practised in jail so far as social distancing norms are concerned that would be available to her outside the jail premises".[8]

On 23 June 2020, Delhi High Court granted bail for Safoora Zargar. The court told her not to get involved in any activity which may hamper the investigation, and not to leave Delhi without permission.[31][32] "She has been asked to pay a personal bond of 10,000 rupees ($132; £106) before her release."[32] This was the fourth bail application, which ended after a three days hearing.[33] Tushar Mehta (the Solicitor General of India), represented the police at the hearings on 22 and 23 June.[8][31] On 22 June, the police opposed bail,[26][8] but then Mehta asked for the hearing to be adjourned until 23 June to enable him to receive further instructions.[8] On 23 June Mehta told the court that the police agreed to Zargar's bail on humanitarian grounds.[33][31] Zargar was released from Tihar Jail late on 24 June 2020.[34][35] After her release, Zargar told a journalist from PTI, "I am grateful to the almighty and all those who have spoken out for me within India and outside and deeply grateful to the Delhi High Court for this order of release".[36][37][38] She also said: "I am immensely grateful to my family for standing by me and for going through this trauma and worry. I need time and space to get my health and life in order and I do not wish to say anything else at this point of time. I am grateful to my lawyer".[36][38]

The Deccan Chronicle expressed the opinion that Zargar's release on bail had been a surprise, and noted that Jamia Millia Islamia students Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman and Asif Iqbal Tanha, and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Natasha Narwal and former-JNU-student Umar Khalid have not so far been bailed.[39]

A special cell of the Delhi Police say that there was a conspiracy to orchestrate riots just before the visit to India of the United States President Donald Trump on 24–25 February 2020. The police have registered a first information report (FIR) to prove the conspiracy. On 17 June 2020, a Delhi court gave the police two months to file the charge sheet. On 13 August 2020, the court gave the police until 17 September to file the charge sheet. Safoora Zargar is one of the ten people named by the police as the main accused in the case.[40] Other people named in the FIR were: (1) Gufisha Fatima, (2) Meeran Haider, (3) Tahir Hussain, (4) Ishrat Jahan, (5) Devangana Kalita, (6) Natasha Narwal, (7) Shafa ur Rehman, (8) Khalid Saifi, and (9) Asif Iqbal Tanha who have been arrested.[40] The FIR also named Umar Khalid.[40]

On 25 November 2020, Delhi High Court granted her permission to stay at her maternal home in Haryana for two months, on condition that she put a pin on Google maps, to help the investigating officer to verify where she was.[41] There were other conditions: she needed to contact the investigating officer by telephone every 15 days, and she would need the permission of the trial court if she needed to travel.[41]

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) criticised the Indian government for violating Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international laws with regard to detention of Zargar.[42]

Online vilification

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After the arrest of Safoora Zargar, several people on social media started sharing unrelated images and screen captures from videos falsely claimed to be Zargar.[43] People shared an image from a porn video claiming that it was Zargar,[4][44] but the fact checking website Alt News, revealed that all the allegations made were fake and baseless.[4] That video was taken from Pornhub and the woman in the video was Pornhub model Selena Banks.[44]

Other social media posts targeting Safoora Zargar for her marital status and pregnancy occurred, with large numbers of individuals claiming that she was unmarried and that her pregnancy was discovered when she was lodged in Tihar Jail.[4][45][46] The Quint fact checked all the allegations, which were revealed to be fake.[6] It has been suggested that the online campaigns against her were misogyny[14][47] and Islamophobia.[47] Delhi Police hadn't taken any action against the online vilification campaigns and trolls as of 20 May 2020.[48]

Personal life

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Zargar was interviewed in May 2018. She was described as lacking a typical Kashmiri accent due to being raised mostly in Delhi. She was comfortable speaking Hindi. She said that she usually did not reveal that she was Kashmiri because "People tend to judge me or look at me differently the moment I talk about my Kashmiri identity."[2]

On 6 October 2018 in an arranged marriage,[1][49][50] Safoora Zargar wed Saboor Ahmed Sirwal in Kishtwar.[1][d] On 12 October 2020, Zargar gave birth to a child.[41]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ On 22–23 February 2020, about 500 people (mostly women) protested at Jaffrabad metro station against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens. The protesters blocked road No. 66 under the station. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation closed the station, and trains were ordered not to halt there. Many police were present (including policewomen).[51][52][53]
  2. ^ Chakka Jam is a term used in India and Nepal for the "deliberate creation of traffic jams as a form of political and social protest".[21]
  3. ^ Professor Kalpana Kannabiran has also criticised the "incarceration of student activist Safoora Zargar and the obduracy of courts in refusing her bail".[23][24]
  4. ^ According to the Huffington Post, Zargar's marriage was in September 2018.[49]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Pasha, Seemi (11 May 2020). "We Have Pinned Our Hopes on the Judiciary': Jailed Student Safoora Zargar's Husband". The Wire. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Bahl, Advitya (19 May 2018). "Delhi: In search of a home". DNA India. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  3. ^ Shaban, Sadiq (11 May 2020). "Concerns grow around Safoora's continued imprisonment in India". Gulf News. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Pandey, Geeta (11 May 2020). "India Coronavirus: Pregnant student Safoora Zargar at risk in jail". BBC News. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  5. ^ Ojha, Arvind (17 September 2022). "Jamia bans Safoora Zargar from entering university campus". India Today. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b Dahiya, Himanshi (7 May 2020). "'Unwed & Pregnant': Trolls Target Safoora Zargar With Fake Claims". The Quint. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "India: Arbitrary detention of several defenders for protesting against the CAA", FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), 29 May 2020, retrieved 31 May 2020
  8. ^ a b c d e f Sinha, Bhadra (22 June 2020), "Safoora Zargar's pregnancy does not dilute gravity of her offence: Delhi Police to HC", ThePrint, retrieved 22 June 2020
  9. ^ a b c d Singh, Valay (28 April 2020). "India: Charged with anti-terror law, pregnant woman sent to jail". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  10. ^ Shankar, Aranya; Singh, Pritam Pal (8 May 2020). "Pregnant Jamia student in jail for three weeks, family says believe in judiciary". The Indian Express. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Delhi riots: Pregnant Jamia student Safoora Zargar in Tihar Jail for three weeks, family still hopeful". Moneycontrol.com. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d Khan, Fatima (4 May 2020). "As arrested and pregnant Jamia student is slandered online, husband keeps faith in judiciary". ThePrint. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  13. ^ Nanjappa, Vicky (25 April 2020). "Umar Khalid, Safoora Zargar, PFI, student activists and the one link to Delhi riots". Oneindia. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Ensure medical aid to Safoora Zargar, panel tells DG (Prisons)". The Hindu. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d Iyer, Aishwarya S (5 June 2020), "After 8 Hours of Arguments Over 2 Days, Safoora Zargar Denied Bail", The Quint, retrieved 6 June 2020
  16. ^ a b c d e Preliminary Report: The Continued Detention of Student Volunteer Safoora Zargar in New Delhi (PDF), American Bar Association, June 2020, retrieved 13 June 2020
  17. ^ "Delhi Riots: Court Extends Judicial Custody of Jamia Students Safoora Zargar and Meeran Haider", News18 India, 26 May 2020, retrieved 6 June 2020
  18. ^ a b c d e f Pasha, Seemi (4 June 2020), "Safoora Zargar Denied Bail as Judge Finds Prima Facie Evidence of 'Conspiracy'", The Wire (India), retrieved 5 June 2020
  19. ^ "Delhi violence: Court dismisses bail plea of Jamia student Safoora Zargar", Asian News International (ANI), 4 June 2020, retrieved 5 June 2020
  20. ^ a b "Delhi riots: Safoora Zargar's plea dismissed", The Hindu, 5 June 2020, retrieved 11 June 2020
  21. ^ Schott, Ben (24 November 2008), "Schott's Vocab – Chakka Jam", The New York Times, retrieved 5 June 2020
  22. ^ Bhatia, Gautam (5 June 2020), "In Denying Bail to Safoora Zargar Delhi Court Stretches Facts and Uses Metaphors in Place of Law", The Scroll (India), retrieved 13 June 2020
  23. ^ Kannabiran, Kalpana (11 June 2020), "The fight to free pregnant student activist Safoora Zargar is a battle for India's very soul", The Scroll (India), retrieved 21 June 2020
  24. ^ Syed, Aijaz Zaka (19 June 2020), "Who's afraid of Safoora Zargar?", The News International, retrieved 21 June 2020
  25. ^ a b "US lawyers' group criticises Safoora Zargar's continued detention", The Week (Indian magazine), 13 June 2020, retrieved 13 June 2020
  26. ^ a b c d e f Banka, Richa (22 June 2020), "Safoora Zargar was one of main conspirators, pregnancy no ground for bail: Delhi Police tells court", Hindustan Times, retrieved 22 June 2020
  27. ^ "Northeast Delhi violence: Safoora Zargar moves HC seeking bail in UAPA case", The Times of India, 17 June 2020, retrieved 20 June 2020
  28. ^ "Delhi Riots: 4-month Pregnant Jamia Student Safoora Zargar Moves HC Seeking Bail in UAPA Case", News18 India, 17 June 2020, retrieved 20 June 2020
  29. ^ "Delhi violence: HC asks police to file status report on Safoora Zargar's bail plea in UAPA case", The Indian Express, 18 June 2020, retrieved 20 June 2020
  30. ^ "N-E violence: Police opposes Safoora Zargar's plea in HC, says pregnancy no ground for bail", Outlook (Indian magazine), 22 June 2020, retrieved 22 June 2020
  31. ^ a b c Gunasekar, Arvind (23 June 2020). Ghosh, Deepshikha (ed.). "Pregnant Jamia Student Safoora Zargar Gets Bail In Delhi Riots Case". NDTV. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  32. ^ a b "Safoora Zargar: Bail for pregnant India student blamed for Delhi riots", BBC News, 23 June 2020, retrieved 23 June 2020
  33. ^ a b Iyer, Aishwarya S (23 June 2020). "Safoora Zargar Granted Bail By Delhi High Court, With Conditions". The Quint. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  34. ^ Iyer, Aishwarya S (24 June 2020), "Day After Being Granted Bail, Safoora Zargar Released from Tihar", The Quint, retrieved 25 June 2020
  35. ^ "Pregnant Jamia student Safoora Zargar released from jail on bail", Hindustan Times (video with subtitles), 25 June 2020, retrieved 25 June 2020
  36. ^ a b "Need Time and Space to Get Health, Life in Order: Safoora Zargar. Jamia Millia Islamia student Safoora Zargar was released from Tihar Jail on Wednesday.", The Wire (India), 26 June 2020, retrieved 27 June 2020
  37. ^ "Safoora thanks all those who 'spoke out for her'". The Hindu. 26 June 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  38. ^ a b Das, Usharani (25 June 2020). "Need time and space to get health, life in order: Jamia student Safoora Zargar after her release". Outlook (Indian magazine). Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  39. ^ "DC Edit — Not charity, but by rights", Deccan Chronicle, 25 June 2020, retrieved 27 June 2020
  40. ^ a b c Banka, Richard (14 August 2020). "Delhi riots: Special cell gets time till Sept 17 to file conspiracy charge sheet". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  41. ^ a b c "Safoora Zargar allowed to visit maternal home to care for her child". The Indian Express. 26 November 2020.
  42. ^ "UN rights panel slams detention of Safoora Zargar". The Hindu.
  43. ^ Chaudhuri, Pooja (6 May 2020). "Unrelated image, pornographic photo shared to target JMI scholar Safoora Zargar". Alt News. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  44. ^ a b Chaudhuri, Pooja (7 May 2020). "Porn clip shared on social media falsely associating it with JMI activist Safoora Zargar". Alt News. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  45. ^ Chaudhuri, Pooja (4 May 2020). "False claims about Safoora Zargar's marriage and pregnancy viral on social media". Alt News.
  46. ^ Bose, Rakhi (5 May 2020). "'Give Her a Condom': Sexist Trolls Target Pregnant Jamia Student Arrested Under UAPA". News18.
  47. ^ a b Mittal, Devika (9 May 2020). "Why 'Propaganda' Against Safoora Is A Step Back for Women's Rights". The Quint. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  48. ^ Parveen, Rahiba R. (8 May 2020). "Jailed anti-CAA activist Safoora Zargar trolled, Delhi police take no action". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  49. ^ a b Sharma, Betwa (9 June 2020), "'Jamia's Daughter': Inside Safoora Zargar's World Of Love, Friendship And Dissent", Huffington Post, retrieved 11 June 2020
  50. ^ "Right Wing Misogynist Falsely abuse Safoora Zargar's pregnancy", Mehfil E Jamia, 4 May 2020, retrieved 31 May 2020
  51. ^ "Jaffrabad metro station gates closed after protesters against CAA gather on major road in Delhi", The Week (Indian magazine), 23 February 2020, retrieved 7 May 2020
  52. ^ "Delhi: Over 1,000 women gather at Jaffrabad metro station to protest against CAA", The Economic Times, 23 February 2020, retrieved 7 May 2020
    "Anti-CAA protest: Entry, exit gates of Jaffrabad metro station closed", The Economic Times, 23 February 2020, retrieved 7 May 2020
  53. ^ "Over 500 protesters block Delhi road, force DMRC to shut Jaffrabad station", Hindustan Times, 23 February 2020, retrieved 7 May 2020
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