Muslim clerics, academia call for release of Ahmad Kazmi

Members of the Muslim community who participated in the protest said that Kazmi's arrest was a clear indication that the Muslim community was being directly targeted in the name of fighting terrorism. Priyanka reports

The Muslim fraternity and a few of its prominent clerics and members of academia on Monday called for the release of journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi, who has been accused in the February 13 bomb blast case in which the wife of Israeli defense attache was injured. They said that Kazmi's arrest was a clear indication that the Muslim community is being directly targeted in the name of fighting terrorism in the country.

Rajya Sabha member Mohammad Adeeb said that Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi was arrested under pressure from Israel and the US. "It took minutes for the government to pin the blame of the Israel bomb blast on Iran," he said and asked, "How is that possible?"

While anti-Israel and anti-US slogans were being raised, he said, "The embassy of Israel should be thrown out of New Delhi."

Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi's younger son, Turab Ali Kazmi spoke to rediff.com and said the family came to know that Ahmad Kazmi had been picked up by the police around 9.30 pm on March 7, the day the election in Uttar Pradesh.

"We rushed to the special cell, and waited outside the room till 2.30 in the morning," he narrated the incidents of the night and said, "We didn't know on what grounds he was arrested and on our persistent asking they kept delaying it and asked us to wait."

He said that he later learned that his father, Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi had been booked under Section 307, 427 and 120B.

"My father was forced to sign on the arrest memo at gunpoint," he said.

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Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi was shifted to the Tihar Jail in Delhi and has been placed under a 14-day judicial custody.

The family members cite helplessness and said that since a charge sheet has not been filed and a formal case has not been made, they cannot apply for bail. 

The Coordination Committee for Indian Muslims (CCIM) said that the Indian Muslim community, especially the youth, felt threatened and vulnerable. There have been instances when the Indian Muslim youth has been arrested without reason, held behind bars and denied a fair trial, the CCIM claimed.

Those present at Parliament road on Monday included Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, the president of All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat and the editor of The Milli Gazatte, and Muhammad Ahmad, political secretary, Jamaat-e Islami Hind, and Muhammad Adeeb, Member of Parliament, and Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani, secretary, Jamait Ulama-e Hind, among about two dozen speakers.

Muhammad Ahmad, political secretary, Jamaat-e Islami Hind said that the arrests of Muslims youths and their release much later, if it happens at all, completely demoralises them, and robs them of their prime years of youth. "I have had an opportunity to speak to a few young Muslims, who are arrested, and detained, and are at times released after being found to be innocent many years later."

"It completely demoralises them, and they feel so harassed," he said.

Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani, secretary, Jamait Ulama-e Hind said that journalist Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi is an honest and upright person and he deserves the right to a fair trial. The cleric also said that it was clear that the journalist has been denied justice, and clearly arrested because of pressure from Israel and the United States.