“Sharjeel Imam and the sob story session at Delhi Press Club: Debunking tall claims made by the ‘secular-liberal’ gang”, OpIndia, January 30, 2026
“At a press conference on January 29, 2026, at the Press Club of India to mark six years since UAPA-accused Sharjeel Imam’s arrest, a number of speakers portrayed his case as a stark illustration of judicial overreach and state repression of dissent.
The proceedings were started by activist Harsh Mander, who criticised the deterioration of democratic values and presented Imam’s prolonged incarceration as a strategy to silence critics of laws like the Citizenship Amendment Act. Rashmi Singh, a lawyer connected to The Wire, followed him. She claimed that Imam’s speeches were misconstrued as seditious, even though “they only promoted peaceful protests” and demanded bail as a fundamental right in the face of trial delays.
During his own brief interrogation, Sharjeel’s brother Muzzammil Imam then related personal stories of alleged police brutality, portraying the family’s alleged experience as representative of targeted harassment against Muslims. Manoj Kumar Jha, a Rajya Sabha MP, added a political perspective by criticising the parliamentary abuse of laws such as UAPA and calling for changes to safeguard civil liberties. Journalist Saba Naqvi highlighted the so-called larger trend of anti-terror laws being used as ‘weapons against minorities.’ Journalist Aditya Menon emphasised Imam’s scholastic background and the intellectual loss resulting from his imprisonment, describing it as a frightening precedent for free expression. Retired University of Delhi professor Nandita Narain also gave a speech, concentrating on alleged unfairness in the administration of justice……”
Read full article at opindia.com
