Ishrat Jahan | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | Former politician, UAPA case |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Movement | Citizenship Amendment Act protests |
Ishrat Jahan is an Indian practising advocate and former municipal councillor for the Indian National Congress [1] in Delhi.
Jahan has been a practising advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi since 2006. [2] [3] She was elected a councillor for Jagatpuri (an urban ward in Krishna Nagar, Delhi) [4] under the Indian National Congress ticket in 2012. [5]
Ishrat Jahan was a prominent activist in the Citizenship Amendment Act protests that began on 13 January 2020. [6] [5] She was arrested on 26 February 2020 [2] along with two other activists on a variety of charges. [6] Lawyers from the Indian Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights Law Network who went to the police station to seek their release were allegedly beaten by police. [6] After Jahan was granted bail on 21 March 2020, she was arrested again the same day on charges related to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). [2] [5]
Ishrat Jahan was accused of giving provocative speeches leading up to the violence that rocked northeast Delhi in February 2020 during the Citizenship Amendment Act protests. [7] [8] In May 2020, she was granted ten days bail to get married in June 2020. [9] Ishrat married Farhan Hashmi on 12 June 2020. [2] Thereafter, she was denied interim bail and returned to jail on 19 June. [4] [10] On 31 July 2020, her appeal to the Delhi High Court against a trial court order granting the police more time to file a chargesheet was denied. [11] She was again denied bail on 27 November 2020. [12]
She was lodged at the Mandoli jail until March 2022, where she complained of being harassed on a regular basis and beaten by the inmates in at least two incidents (in November and December 2020). A district court judge noted that Jahan was in a state of "utter fear" and directed jail authorities to provide security to her. [13] [14] [15] [10] [16]
On 14 March 2022, Jahan was granted bail in all pending cases against her. [17] After she was released, she continued to assert that she has been wrongly accused and that the anti-CAA protests were not linked to violence. [18]