Assam-origin doctor fights extradition to India from UK on terror charge

A 75yearold Indianorigin doctor from Assam now based in northeast England appeared in court in London on Monday to contest his extradition to India on a terror charge as the alleged chairman of the United Liberation Front of Asom Independent or ULFA IDr Mukul Hazarika who is a general practitioner GP at County Durham is sought by the Indian authorities to stand trial for conspiracy related to a banned terrorist organisation in IndiaThe Crown Prosecution Service CPS appearing on behalf of the Indian government told District Judge Michael Snow at Westminster Magistrates Court that the conspiracy he is wanted for relates to organising terrorist camps and recruiting cadres for terrorism as part of his membership of a terrorist groupingIn essence he is charged with waging or attempting to wage war or abetting the waging of war against the government of India which is a terrorist act CPS barrister Ben Lloyd told the court as the extradition hearing openedThe court heard that Hazarika also reportedly known as Abhijeet Asom allegedly made a speech to assembled cadres to encourage an armed struggle to create a separate sovereign state of Assam at a camp in Myanmar in 2016 in his role as ULFA I chairmanAmong the documents submitted to the court is an affidavit from an investigating officer attesting to Hazarikas involvement charges the medical practitioner deniesHazarikas barrister Ben Cooper countered that the case against him fails to get off the ground because of a conspicuous absence of substantive evidence His defence team sought to highlight that ULFA I unlike ULFA is not a proscribed organisation his alleged role as a selfstyled chairman is undefined and that the contents of the socalled incriminating Myanmar speech are not availableBesides the court was given details of Hazarikas active human rights advocacy work including setting up Assam Watch and it was claimed that he was being targeted by the Indian authorities as part of wider persecution of dissenting voices in the regionHe has a long background in human rights advocacy although trained as a doctor he is committed to open dialogue to defend the human rights of the people of Assam said CooperThe defence lawyer also noted that Indias National Investigation Agency NIA carried out the investigation into the case at the behest of the government of IndiaThe other areas of focus in the case for the defence will be the prospect of a life sentence without the prospect of parole that he could face in India and the prison conditions he would be subjected to if extradited to IndiaMeanwhile Hazarika remains on bail under electronic tag curfew provisions since his arrest by the UKs extradition unit officials in July last year The court granted him permission to be located at a London address for the duration of his extradition hearing which will last into next weekThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever