October 2020 – Page 2 – free them all

NIA: Dr Anand Teltumbde directed colleagues to run campaign against his implication

26/10/2020 Maya

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

Prior to the Supreme Court (SC) directing academician and activist Dr Anand Teltumbde to approach the Bombay high court (HC) for anticipatory bail in January 2018, he allegedly had asked his colleagues to run a campaign against his implication in the case. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is investigating Teltumbde for his role in the Bhima Koregaon case mentioned Teltumbde’s plans in the charge sheet filed against him earlier this week.
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Asian bishops stand in solidarity with arrested Jesuit [read full statement]

26/10/2020 Rani

UCA News / by John Zaw, Mandalay

The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) has said it stands in solidarity with Indian Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of indigenous people.
“It is with great shock and agony the FABC heard of the arrest of the 84-year-old Father Swamy and his incarceration and we are surprised at the charges brought against him,” Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, president of the FABC, said in a statement.
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Asian Bishops Call for Release of Fr. Stan Swamy

26/10/2020

ZENIT / by ZENIT Staff

The Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) has called for the release of Fr. Stan Swamy, who was arrested in his home in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand State in eastern India, on October 8th…

Following is the full letter
It is with great shock and agony, the FABC heard of the arrest of the 83-year-old Fr Stan Swamy and his incarceration. We are surprised at the charges brought against him. We stand in solidarity with Fr. Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of the indigenous people.
Read full statement

AICUF Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam unit and Parish Pastoral council St. Peter’s Cathedral, Arch Diocese of Visakhapatnam has organized a candle light rally @ 19:30hrs on Sunday 25.10.2020 at Gnanapuram for Fr. Stan.

One of the Accused in the Bhima Koregaon case: A profile of Mahesh Raut

26/10/2020 Rani

The Polis Project / by The Polis Project and maara

Mahesh Raut is a land rights activist working with Gram Sabhas in the mining areas of Gadhchiroli. He is a former Prime Minister Rural Development (PMRD) Fellow. As part of his work, he visited local villages and interacted with local communities. In addition to being one of the conveners of Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vilas Andolan, a national organization that fights the displacement of marginalized communities, Raut is also a member of Bharat Jan Andolan, a human rights NGO.
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Arrested accused wanted to mobilise youth through photo exhibitions, says NIA

25/10/2020 Rani

Book / Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

Ahead of the Bhima Koregaon incident in January 2018, one of the accused – Arun Ferreira – had suggested holding photo exhibitions for students on the subjects of mob lynching and Hindu militant uprising. According to a charge sheet filed earlier this month by the National Investigative Agency (NIA), this was to mobilise the youth.
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Stan Swamy’s Crime Is His Solidarity with the Marginalised

25/10/2020 Rani

The Leaflet / by Annie Domini

In light of the state’s attack on eminent activists who fight for the right of marginalised and oppressed, those who express solidarity must raise their voices loudly and actively writes Annie Domini.
If you look at the body politic of the country without saffron-tinted glasses, if you truly see, you will find a very very sick organism indeed. An organism that’s cannibalising on its own heart, brain and lungs to feed a massive belly of unrestrained State power.
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Arrested Indian Jesuit’s detention extended /Court Rejects Stan Swamy’s Interim Bail Plea

25/10/2020 Rani

Arrested Indian Jesuit’s detention extended

25/10/2020

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

A special court in India’s business capital Mumbai extended the judicial custody of an octogenarian Indian Jesuit for another two more weeks on Oct. 23, rejecting his plea for an interim-bail considering his advanced age and poor health.
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Court Rejects Stan Swamy’s Interim Bail Plea in Elgar Parishad Case

23/10/2020

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Swamy had filed an interim bail application on medical grounds, given his age, pre-existing conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
A special court on Thursday rejected the interim bail plea filed by 83-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, arrested in the Elgar Parishad case.
Swamy was arrested on October 8 from Ranchi, Jharkhand by the National Investigation Agency and taken to Mumbai the day after. He had filed an interim bail application on medical grounds, given his age, pre-existing conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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NIA court rejects Father Stan Swamy’s plea for interim bail

22/10/2020

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The special National Investigating Agency (NIA) court on Thursday rejected the interim bail plea filed by 83-year-old activist Father Stan Swamy…
His lawyer, Sharif Shaikh, had moved a plea for interim bail claiming, “The applicant is 83-years old, suffering from various ailments like hearing loss from both ears, arms injury. He has undergone two hernia operations, and still is suffering from abdomen pain. He suffers intense pain from lumbar spondylosis i.e. the tear and wear of the lumbar disc and tremors in both hands due to Parkinson’s disease.”
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On trail for thoughts – What is stopping the Elgaar Parishad activists from getting bail?

24/10/2020 Rani

Millenium Post / by Abhinay Lakshman

With three chargesheet now filed against them, what is stopping the Elgaar Parishad activists from getting bail? With evidence of their “provocative” speeches vague and questions being raised on the veracity of other evidence, is this what being tried for one’s thoughts feels like?
Some of the country’s pioneering rights activists, professors, lawyers and human rights advocates have been languishing in jail for years now by precisely this modus operandi – and their trial is yet to even begin.
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Father Stan Swamy’s Jesuit Associates Condemn ‘Fabricated’ Charges Against Him

24/10/2020 Rani

The Wire / by Abhish K. Bose

“The NIA knows that he was voicing views against the government and corporate groups, and hence he was framed in the case.”
Kottayam: The Jesuit congregation is hopeful that the case against 83-year-old priest Father Stan Swamy, a member of the Jamshedpur province of the Society of Jesus congregation, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), will be shattered in the court, as there is no evidence to establish that he was in some way connected with the violence against Dalits at Bhima Koregaon. The imprisoned priest’s close associate, Father Joseph Xavier, alleges that Swamy hasn’t visited Pune for the last 15 years.
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+++ Tweet by Indian Social Institute: On 23 Oct’20, ISIB UTC, Archdiocese of Bengaluru, PUCL-K, CRI, NGOs and CSOs jointly organized a program on Stand in Solidarity with Fr. Stan Swamy SJ.120 people participated representing various religious congregations, NGOs, CSOs, Teachers, Students and Activists. +++

Court takes cognizance of NIA’s supplementary chargesheet; says prima-facie material exists

24/10/2020 Rani

Ranchi, Oct 2020

Free Press Journal / By Staff Reporter

The seven accused Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap and Stan Swamy have been charged for criminal conspiracy among other offences under the IPC and under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The court noted that in view of the aforesaid allegations and considering the material available on record, it finds that there is prima-facie material on record against the accused persons to take cognizance of the offences. Hence, cognizance is taken.
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A citizen objects – On the arrests of men and women of conscience

23/10/2020 Rani

The Telegraph / by Shiv Visvanathan

My father was a brilliant metallurgist who worked for the Tatas. We lived in Jamshedpur and would go for long walks. He loved the forests around the city. I remember one evening as we walked, the Tata ‘mountains’ poured out their slag — molten and incandescent — as if the Tatas made sunsets. Then, a few minutes later, the Dalma hills lit up as the tribals burnt an area for jhum cultivation. Both were brilliant sights and my father watched entranced. He then said, almost cryptically, “Both have to survive. Justice is balance between the two.” For my father, Tata’s validity lay in the continuity of the tribe. It was a vision of a different world.
When I heard of the Jesuit Father, Stan Swamy, I sensed here was a man who understood that vision, grasped why the tribes and the tribal way of life had to survive.
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