Photo: Police brutally attack film activists in Thrissur, Kerala. On Saturday, night February 22 five activists of VIBGYOR film festival were picked up by police from the front of the festival venue and brutally beat them up inside the police vehicle and inside the police station. Advocate R.K Asha who went to give them legal aid also was attacked by   male police inside the station. She has a wound on her leg from the attack by the male police and she is bleeding. Asha’s son Gautham and daughter Gadha who were accompanying their mother too were attacked and detained by the  police. All of them are detained by the police at the time of this writing.  </p>
<p>The activists detained in the Thrissur East police station are Neethu, Jithesh, Vivek, Nithin and Anurag, Advocate Asha and her son Gautham and daughter Gadha . All the women were verbally abused and harassed by the policemen. </p>
<p> On 14th of this month, Hindutwa hooligans with the collusion of the police had tried to prevent the screening of “Ocean of Tears” a film from Kashmir. VIBGYOR film collective stood together and drove back the lumpen elements from the venue. The police simply stood and watched the spectacle and allowed the hooligans to go scot-free. Even though these hooligans destroyed the VIBGYOR festival office, no cases were registered against them. You can read the report here http://www.countercurrents.org/cc140214.htm</p>
<p>A police man who had sided with the Hindutwa elements was involved in the present attack on the VIBGYOR activists. It must be suspected that the Hindutwa elements are settling their score with the help of the  police force. </p>
<p>Take Urgent Action:</p>
<p>Write letters  to these key people in Kerala to take action and punish those responsible. </p>
<p>Chief Minister of Kerala   chiefminister@kerala.gov.in<br />
Home Minister (minister incharge of law and order)  min.home@kerala.gov.in </p>
<p>K.S.Balasubramanian<br />
State Police Chief    dgp@keralapolice.gov.in

 

OnFebruary 22, 2014, five activists of VIBGYOR International FilmFestival were picked up by the police in Trichur and they werebrutally beaten up inside the vehicle as well as inside the policestation. Young woman cinematographer Neethu was attacked physicallyby male police and was subjected to sexual verbal abuse as well asphysical violence. Five young activists were physically attacked andare detained by police at the Thrissur East Police station. AdvocateR. K. Asha who came with her son and daughter to release theactivists were also brutally beaten up and the male police kicked herwith boots and she was dragged in front of her children. Her son andminor daughter were also subjected to physical violence. AdvocateAsha, her minor daughter, Neethu, and Sruti were hospitalized inThrissur later. We unanimously condemn the brutal violence on womeninside the police station and that also a practicing woman advocateand a young woman cinematographer as well as a minor girl. We alsodemand that the five boys who are still inside the police station bereleased immediately and unconditionally.

 

Itis shocking that the police attacks on women activists of VIBGYORtook place soon after the completion of 9thVIBGYOR which focused on Gender Violence. When the work ofinternationally famous Eve Einsler, `Vagina Monologues’ wasperformed, the police tried to initiate physical violence on February15, 2014 right inside the festival ground. On February 13th,when the Sangh Parivar activists tried to stop the screening of thedocumentary on Kashmir `Ocean of Tears’, the police facilitatedthem to enter the campus and destroy the festival office. While thehooligans destroyed the office right in front of the police, no casewas registered on any of these communal fascists. The activists ofVIBGYOR courageously and unitedly resisted them in a non-violentmanner and the fascists were forced to withdraw.

 

Weare shocked at the growing state violence and communal violence onthe cultural activists and we demand an immediate action on theguilty police officers. We demand that all the guilty police officersbe suspended and transferred immediately. We appeal to all women’sgroups, human rights groups, activists and film personalities tostrengthen this struggle against police violence on activistsimmediately. We appeal to all concerned sections to circulate thismessage immediately.

 

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