The AP chapter of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) has urged governments to scrap laws like the UAPA, AFSPA and others, and release all political prisoners unconditionally.
The committee said many people who fought for public causes are languishing in jail in Andhra Pradesh and other states.
At an interaction organised by CRPP on Monday as part of the Political Prionsers Week -- observed annually from March 23 to commemorate Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Raj Guru -- speakers such as Prof Jagmohan, nephew of Bhagat Singh, Vara Vara Rao, Hara Gopal, CRPP general secretary Balla Ravindranath, and relatives of some jailed leaders shared their perspectives.
They said there has been a longstanding demand to treat those who fought for political change and got jailed as political priosners, but governments have not given a thought to it.
Recalling the sacrifice of Bhagat Singh and others for an equal society, they said the sitution has not changed in Indian jails since the British era. Cases were foisted against communists who agitated for the welfare of the people. In several such cases, the trials have gone on for years. In some cases, the prisoners were treated inhumanly. Relatives of such prisoners interacted with mediapersons and spoke out on the injustice.