The Times of India / by Shruti Ganapatye
Teltumbde’s wife and Babasaheb Ambedkar’s granddaughter says it is laughable that he has been arrested in connection with Bhima-Koregaon violence because he has written that the clash of “mahars and Peshwas” was a myth perpetuated by Dr Ambedkar to rally the Dalits against caste oppression.
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Counterview / by Counterview Desk
Making the 84th birth anniversary of Father Stan Swamy – the veteran Adivasi rights Jesuit priest languishing Taloja Jail, Maharashtra, for about four months for his alleged role in Bhima Koregaon violence – as the occasion, the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), a civil rights organisation, has demanded that “lakhs of undertrials with no justice in sight” should be released immediately.
Pointing out that Stan Swamy too is an undertrial, JMM said, was involved in a study carried out in 2014-16, which revealed that about 97 percent of the surveyed undertrial prisoners “were falsely accused of being Maoists”.
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en + hindi | 1h34min | 2021
By PUCL & friends and co-travellers of Father Stan Swamy
The PUCL along with the friends and co-travellers of Father Stan Swamy,
invite you to join online Father Stan’s 84th birthday celebrations.
Watch video @ PUCL fb page here
Through his own writings from the prison, and know why the State fears him and why the Bhima Koregaon case is cooked up, along with messages of solidarity for his release and that of other Prisoners of Conscience.
Father Stan stands as a symbol of struggle and resistance against the repression of Tribals and has been falsely implicated and arrested since October 2020 in the Bhima Koregaon “conspiracy” case. A Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, he has worked in Jharkhand for over three decades on issues of land, forest and labour rights in order to create a world where there is love, peace and justice.
#ReleaseFatherStanNOW #ReleaseAllBK16Prisoners
Three Day consultation on 20th, 21st and 22nd January, 2021
► Repeal UAPA – Day Three (en + … | 2h 51min | Jan 2021)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Two (en +… | 2h 22min | Jan 2021)
► Repeal UAPA – Day One (en + … | 2h 17min | Jan 2021)
27/04/2021
The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak
Swamy, who turned 84 on Monday, was arrested on October 8, last year, from Ranchi by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged role in the Elgaar Parishad case.
From his daily routine to the experiences of his co-inmates in jail, Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy’s communication through letters and phones calls with his colleagues and friends gives a glimpse into the 200 days spent in jail by the country’s oldest prisoner arrested in a terror case.
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26/04/2021
Counterview / by Fr Cedric Prakash SJ
Dear Stan,
It is rather unusual and certainly not normal to wish someone who is in prison “A Happy Birthday!” One’s birthday cannot be ‘happy’ in prison; however, in wishing you we celebrate your life: your mission and your message and above all, those whom you have so closely identified with, all these years so “Birthday Greetings to you dear Fr. Stan!
Our prayer today is one of thanksgiving to Almighty God for the Gift of You: to so many people everywhere: particularly the poor and the excluded, the Adivasis and Dalits; to the Country, the Church and the Society of Jesus.
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26/04/2021
en | 3:47min | 2021
By Bombay Jesuits
This Rap song is a tribute to Fr. Stan Swamy SJ on the occasion of his 84th Birthday (26th April) Since October 2020 he has been in prison arrested under UAPA in Bhima Koregaon case. He has dedicated his life for the service of the Tribals and marginalized in central India. A true prophet of our times he continues to be a symbol of resistance and a messenger of justice, peace and love not just in the world outside but even in jail. The chorus of this song- “We’ll still sing in chorus, a caged bird can still sing” is taken from one of his letters written from the prison.
Watch video
26/04/2021
#ReleaseAllPoliticalPrisoners
#FreeBK16
#BhimaKoregaon
#freesagargorkhe
By Sudha Bharadwaj’s Family & Friends
RELEASE SUDHA BHARADWAJ AND OTHERS FRAMED IN BHIMA KOREGAON CASE
CALL FOR INDEPENDENT TIME-BOUND PROBE INTO HACKING CLAIMS
Press Note
US cyber forensics firm, Arsenal Consulting has released a second report reaffirming the planting of ‘incriminating documents’ into Rona Wilson’s (a co-accused in the case) computer through use of an external malware. Crucially, one of the incriminating documents relied upon by the prosecution against Sudha Bharadwaj was found on Rona Wilson’s computer. In its report Arsenal Consulting has claimed that this document was remotely planted.
This report only substantiates what Family and Friends of Sudha Bharadwaj have consistently and independently maintained since the first raid in her house on 28th August 2018 that she is innocent and has been incarcerated for nearly three years on the basis of fabricated evidence. …
en | 40min | 2021
By America – The Jesuit Review
For almost six months, 84-year-old Stan Swamy, S.J., has been held in a Mumbai jail on charges of sedition and contravention of India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention Act) (U.A.P.A.) of 1967. Repeated requests for his release on humanitarian grounds have been denied. In this episode of Behind the Story, America editor Ricardo da Silva, S.J., is joined by two Jesuits who know Fr. Swamy—Xavier Jeyaraj, S.J., and Cedric Prakash, S.J.—to assess Fr. Swamy’s current situation, why his request for bail has been twice denied and the next steps in his legal case.
A roadmap of our conversation:
02:12 — The situation of Father Stan Swamy, S.J. as of April 2020
04:10 — The accusations brought against him
05:58 — The circumstances that mitigate against his release
08:35 — Links to Bhima Koregaon and Elgar Parishad
12:55 — The evidence the National Investigation Agency alleges to have against him
17:25 — The Maoists; the Naxalites and the Communist Party of India?
22:55 — The campaign for his release #StandwithStan?
25:00 — Father Swamy’s work and ministry to the most impoverished of India
28:25 — What the Vatican knows about the situation and what the Catholic Church is doing
30:00 — The larger politics at play and the threats to democracy in India
34:45 — The future of his case and further attempts to grant bail on humanitarian grounds
Yesterday was my father’s birthday. For a third year he spent it in a crowded jail and for a second year in a row he did so under the serious threat of a pandemic out of control. The threat seems far more severe this year and he, now aged 64, still very much falls in the category of vulnerable people. In the absence of an individual, memories are what we tend to hold onto and so I thought of sharing a memory from his earlier birthday in prison in 2019. …
Siasat / by Yunus Y Lasania
The Telangana government on Friday banned 16 organisations, including the Revolutionary Writers Association, known as Virasam, claiming that these are frontal bodies of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), and are engaged in “tactics” that “wage war against the state”. The order was passed by chief secretary Somesh Kumar, with effect from March 30 this year.
… The Government Order also clearly states that the organisations are also being banned for demanding the release of Prof. GN Sai Baba, Rona Wilson, and writer Vara Vara Rao (who is from Virasam), who are all currently in prison with regard to the Elgar Parishad case, on allegations of conspiring to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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23/04/2021
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
This came after a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm found further evidence that 22 letters were planted in activist Rona Wilson’s laptop.
A US congressional briefing held by a coalition of Indian American and human rights organisations on Thursday said that the Bhima Koregaon violence case was a clear evidence of “deteriorating democracy” in India. The briefing took place on Thursday after a new report from a United States-based digital forensics firm revealed that a hacker planted 22 additional incriminating documents in activist Rona Wilson’s laptop.
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20/04/2021
en |1h30min | 2021
Congressional briefing
April 22, 2021
On February 10, Washington Post showed how renowned human rights defenders in India were incarcerated on the basis of forged files planted using malware. Hear experts on digital forensics and human rights speak about the landmark Bhima-Koregaon case, seen as the most significant test case for human rights and rule of law in India.
This Thursday, HfHR and our partners are hosting a Congressional Briefing on the #BhimaKoregaon case, in which Indian human rights activists have been incarcerated on the basis of forged evidence.
Watch video