Arundhati Roy receives PEN Pinter Prize 2024, calls attention to Palestinian struggles
Shares PEN Pinter Prize 2024 with jailed Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah
►Donates prize money to Palestinian children
London: Indian author and activist Arundhati Roy was honoured with the PEN Pinter Prize 2024 during a ceremony at the British Library in London, sharing the accolade with Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah, recognised as the Writer of Courage 2024 by English PEN.
In her acceptance speech, Roy committed to raising awareness about the ongoing struggles faced by Palestinians, expressing solidarity with political prisoners in India. She announced that her share of the prize money would be donated to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. Roy emphasised the importance of Abd el-Fattah’s voice, stating, “We are listening, Alaa. Closely.”
Roy also addressed the harsh realities of oppression, focusing on the violence faced by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. She condemned the ongoing military actions by Israel, which she characterised as genocidal, citing an official death toll of 42,000, with a majority being women and children. She urged for global awareness and action against such atrocities.
Reflecting on historical injustices, Roy criticised past U.S. foreign policy decisions for contributing to the current crisis. She contested the narrative framing the conflict as one of equal aggression, asserting that Israel’s occupation and oppression of Palestinians are the root causes of the violence.
Concluding her speech, Roy challenged the audience to consider the moral implications of inaction and to recognise the humanity of those suffering under occupation. She called for questioning the complicity of their own governments in supporting oppressive regimes, emphasising the urgency of addressing Palestinian rights and the broader implications of state-sponsored violence.
Roy shared her PEN Pinter Prize 2024 with jailed Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah. Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British-Egyptian writer and activist, has been imprisoned in Egypt for over five years for his outspoken defence of freedom of expression. His writings from prison, including social media posts, were compiled in the 2021 book You Have Not Yet Been Defeated, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions. Abd el-Fattah's work has garnered international attention, highlighting the risks faced by those who speak out against oppressive regimes.
According to Abd el-Fattah’s lawyer, Khaled Ali, the activist was initially expected to complete his sentence on 29 September 2024. However, authorities intend to extend his detention until 3 January 2027, effectively negating the time served from September 2019 to January 2022, which was categorised as pretrial detention in case No. 1356 of 2019. Abd el-Fattah was arrested on 28 September 2019 for raising awareness about a fellow prisoner’s death and faced multiple charges, including joining a terrorist group and spreading false information. After two years of pretrial detention, he was sentenced by the Emergency State Security Court to five years in prison.
During the ceremony, Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the Egyptian news website Mada Masr, accepted the award on Abd el-Fattah’s behalf, emphasising his bravery in the pursuit of truth.
In response to her son’s prolonged detention, Laila Soueif, Abd el-Fattah's mother, has initiated a hunger strike, describing the extension of his sentence as a violation of Egyptian law. She stated, “I consider this a kidnapping as well as unlawful detention,” highlighting the grave injustice of her son’s imprisonment. The family has urged the new Labour government in the UK to advocate for Abd el-Fattah’s release. Soueif plans to meet with British Foreign Minister David Lammy on 19 October in London to discuss her son’s situation.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
