Delhi HC rejects interim bail plea of PFI leader OMA Salam
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to grant interim bail to Popular Front of India (PFI) leader OMA Salam, arrested in a case registered under the anti-terror law, UAPA, against the banned organisation and its members.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma rejected Salam's plea seeking a release for two weeks, saying he is "a person of great influence" who managed and administered the PFI for years, and enlarging him on interim bail would not only entail flight risk but also the possibility of several witnesses being influenced.
Salam had sought two weeks' interim bail on the ground that his daughter died in April and his wife was in a "depressive state".
Dismissing the plea, the court noted that Salam was given custody parole when his daughter died in an accident in April and his wife's mental condition was neither debilitating nor of a nature that required an urgent intervention.
"Upon considering the fundamental ground of interim bail made by the appellant, that is, his wife not being well, the court on perusal of the medical records as also the overall facts of the present case holds that the present case does not reveal a situation which justifies grant of bail," the bench said in its decision.
"The appellant in the present case is a person of great influence and was the chairman of the PFI, which is now a banned organisation. The observations of the Kerala High Court sufficiently capture the events that took place on September 23, 2022, that is, one day post the arrest of the appellant herein. The observations of the Kerala High Court reveal the nature of influence that the appellant wields," it observed.
The court added that Salam has an immediate family, which includes four children, and therefore, there are family members to take care of his wife.
The court further said Salam's refusal to meet his wife in Delhi while being in custody parole showed that his intention was "not to merely meet his wife but to visit the state of Kerala, which in the opinion of the court, is fraught with severe risk and likelihood of unforeseen consequences considering the influence that the appellant wields".
"The appellant has a wide following amongst the members of the PFI who work on his directions and also have appeared to cause intimidation and commit violence. According to the NIA, the appellant is capable of creating fear in the public and even intimidating witnesses," the court noted.
Salam, the chairman of the PFI, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) during a massive crackdown on the banned organisation in 2022.
According to the NIA, the PFI, its office-bearers and members hatched a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for committing terror acts in various parts of the country and were conducting camps to indoctrinate and train their cadres for the purpose.
Preceding the nationwide ban, in near-simultaneous raids across the country as part of a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the NIA, a large number of PFI activists were detained or arrested in 11 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.
The arrests were made in states and Union territories, including Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Delhi and Rajasthan.
The government banned the PFI and several of its associate organisations on September 28, 2022 for five years under the Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act (UAPA), accusing them of having links with global terror groups like the ISIS.
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UAE denies Netanyahu secretly visited the country during Iran war
Jerusalem (AP): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Israeli-US war with Iran, further strengthening ties with a Gulf nation that normalised relations with Israel in 2020, his office said Wednesday. The UAE denied any secret visit had occurred.
Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a gathering that “resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates", according to the Israeli statement.
THE UAE's official WAM news agency posted an article denying the report about a Netanyahu visit.
According to WAM, the country's relations with Israel “are public and conducted within the framework of the well-known and officially declared Abraham Accords, and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial arrangements”.
The report also denied any Israeli military delegation was received in the UAE.
Israel's announcement came a day after US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee revealed that Israel had sent Iron Dome air-defence weapons and personnel to operate them to the UAE.
The UAE has faced Iranian missile and drone fire even after the ceasefire was reached last month. It has been trying to signal to nervous investors that it remains open for business and safe.
Last week, WAM reported that Netanyahu was among the leaders who called the Emirati president to condemn Iranian attacks and express their solidarity with the Gulf federation.
It was rare public acknowledgment of direct talks between the countries that normalized relations in the 2020 Abraham Accords and have strengthened their ties during the Iran war.
Iran has criticised that agreement and has repeatedly suggested over the years that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the Emirates.
Israeli leaders have made occasional visits to the UAE in recent years after normalising relations.
Iran demands Kuwait release detainees
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Iran's foreign minister accused Kuwait of attempting to “sow discord” by detaining four Iranians that the Gulf Arab country accuses of being Revolutionary Guard operatives.
In a post Wednesday on X, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi demanded the Iranians' immediate release and said Iran reserved the right to respond.
“This illegal act took place near an island used by the US to attack Iran,” Araghchi wrote.
A day earlier, Kuwait said four men were detained and two escaped while trying to infiltrate Bubiyan Island in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf on May 1.
Bubiyan Island is home to Mubarak Al Kabeer Port, which is under construction as part of a Chinese plan to build infrastructure across the world. It also came under Iranian attack during the war.
Iranian human rights lawyer released
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Prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been released from prison more than a month after being detained, a rights group and her daughter said Wednesday.
Sotoudeh, who is known for defending activists, opposition politicians and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves, was detained by Iranian intelligence agents at her house in Tehran in April.
Her release comes as US President Donald Trump arrived in China for a long-anticipated visit that is expected to touch on the war in Iran.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which closely tracks developments in Iran, said that Sotoudeh was released on bail from Tehran's Evin Prison.
Her daughter, Mehraveh Khandan, posted on social media that Sotoudeh was released on temporary custody. Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency also reported Sotoudeh release.
Sotoudeh has been imprisoned multiple times. Her activist husband, Reza Khandan, has been imprisoned in the same prison as his wife.
Nobel Peace laureate needs long-term care
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Doctors who examined Nobel Peace laureate and activist Narges Mohammadi more than a week after she collapsed at a prison in Iran said she needs months of treatment, according to her foundation.
Mohammadi, 53, was urgently transferred from prison to a hospital in northwestern Iran on May 1 after she fell unconscious. She was released on bail nearly 10 days later and transferred to a hospital in Tehran where her specialists examined her.
The doctors said her vascular disease has worsened since she was last checked in 2024 and recommended eight months of treatment.
She was awarded the Nobel in 2023 while in prison and has been jailed repeatedly throughout her career. Her latest imprisonment began in December when she was arrested in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.
