New Delhi: A week after he was granted custody parole, human rights activist Shifa-ur-Rehman campaigned for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls.
The former president of the Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI), who is an undertrial in the 2020 Delhi violence case, was allowed parole to contest the elections.
The court permitted his release for 12 hours daily from January 30 to February 3, upon depositing Rs2.07 lakh as security. While acknowledging that his case differed from that of his co-accused Mohammad Tahir Hussain, who was granted similar parole by the Supreme Court, the court followed the same approach. However, Rehman was strictly prohibited from discussing his pending cases during his campaign.
Rehman is contesting the Okhla constituency seat on an All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) ticket. He was a key figure in the anti-CAA protests and, along with several activists, was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly orchestrating the 2020 Delhi violence, which resulted in 53 deaths, mostly of Muslims.
In June 2020, UN experts called for the release of Rehman and other detained activists, stating their arrests appeared to be an attempt to silence dissent against government policies.
