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Let us remember Father Stan Swamy and take forward his legacy! Justice for the BK16!

Let us remember Father Stan Swamy and take forward his legacy! Justice for the BK16!

by PUCL India / @PUCLindia (July 4, 2023):
The National Campaign to Defend Democracy, a coalition of over 150 organisations, is hosting a discussion tomorrow at 9 PM to remember Father Stan Swamy & talk about the stories of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Let’s demand immediate bail and release of all the BK16!

by PUCL India / @PUCLindia (July 4, 2023)
PUCL Karnataka is hosting an event tomorrow at @AshirvadSocial at 5:45 PM!
Join @VSuresh_Rights, Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas and Maitreyi Krishnan (@AilajHq) for a discussion on the work & life of Father Stan Swamy, the abuse of draconian laws like UAPA & the rights of prisoners.

by Jesuit conference of South Asia / @JCSADelhi
On the occasion of the 2nd Death Anniversary of Stan Swamy, you are invited to join a panel discussion on civic literacy and political participation.
#StanSwamy

by Jesuit conference of South Asia / @JCSADelhi (Jul 4, 2023):
We pay tribute to our martyr, Fr. Stan Swamy, on the occasion of the second anniversary of his martyrdom.
#StanSwamy #ReleaseAllPoliticalPrisoners

Stan Swamy Commemorative Convention

by Justice for Father Stan Swamy / @FreeFrStanSwamy (June 23, 2023):
Stan Swamy Commemorative Convention
Children’s Theatre Park, Ernakulam
5th July,
3 p.m. IST

Human rights activists to hold Sankalp Sabhas on July 5

04/07/2023

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

Activists in Jharkhand have decided to take a pledge to continue their fight for jal, jungle and jameen, along with a demand for punishment to those responsible for ‘murder’ of Stan Swamy.
Human rights activists in Jharkhand have decided to take a pledge to continue their fight for jal (water), jungle (forest) and jameen (land), along with a demand for punishment to those responsible for the “murder” of Stan Swamy, on July 5 which marks the third death anniversary of the Jesuit priest.
Read more

The Challenge to Live Fr. Stan Swamy’s Legacy Today!

04/07/2023

Countercurrents.org / by Cedric Prakash

… Given the grim realities which throttle the nation today, one person whose physical presence is greatly missed today is that of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy. Two years ago on 5 July 2021, he said ‘good-bye’ to us, having completed his pilgrimage here on earth. He was arrested on 8 October 2020 on fabricated charges, incarcerated in the Taloja jail where he suffered very much. His terrible and untimely death is regarded by many as ‘institutional murder’. He has still not been declared ‘innocent’ by the courts. However, Stan (as he was called by all very lovingly) the man, mission and message -lives on in the hearts and lives of thousands everywhere. He has left us with a rich legacy and challenges us to live that legacy today.
Read more

Also read/watch:

Video: Testimony of Stan Swamy, two days before his arrest on 8 October 2020.


en | 7:48 min | Oct 6, 2020
Watch video

I am not a Silent Spectator – Why Truth has become so bitter, Dissent so intolarable, Justice so out of reach

An Autobiographical Fragment, Memory and Reflection


Indian Social Institute, Bangalore | by Stan Swamy | August 2021
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here

Another hearing and the question of furnishing copies of evidence to the accused remains unanswered

Another hearing and the question of furnishing copies of evidence to the accused remains unanswered

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

In a plea for providing the accused copies of police reports and other documents under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a special NIA court has directed the NIA to file an affidavit in respect of the electronic evidence that was seized from the accused persons and ensure compliance by providing them with copies.
On Saturday, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court of special judge Rajesh Kataria resumed its hearing of applications filed by accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case.
The plea is for the NIA to comply with Section 207 (supply to the accused of copy of police report and other documents) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Read more

Also read:
● Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
● Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody (Wired / Dec 13, 2022)
● Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)
● Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)

Bombay HC directs NIA to file reply on Gautam Navlakha’s fresh bail application, next hearing on July 25

Bombay HC directs NIA to file reply on Gautam Navlakha’s fresh bail application, next hearing on July 25

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

On Wednesday, a division Bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justices A.S. Gadkari and Shivkumar Dige heard a fresh bail application filed by journalist and human rights activist Gautam Navlakha.
The Bench also directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file its reply. The NIA counsel told the court that the reply would be filed by this evening or tomorrow.
Read more

NIA opposes Mahesh Raut’s bail plea in Bombay High Court

NIA opposes Mahesh Raut’s bail plea in Bombay High Court

NIA opposes Mahesh Raut’s bail plea in Bombay HC

27/06/2023

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

A division bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Shivkumar G Dige posted the hearing on Mahesh Raut’s bail application to July 12.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed a regular bail plea by  Elgaar Parishad case accused Mahesh Raut in the Bombay High Court saying there is sufficient material evidence against Raut to show his involvement in the crime for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and his bail plea was rightly rejected by the special NIA court earlier.
Read more

Bail not justiciable for Bhima Koregaon accused Mahesh Raut, his acts were against interest of society: NIA to Bombay High Court

27/06/2023

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

NIA stated in its affidavit that it found evidence to show that the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist) had given Raut ₹5 lakh.
It is not justifiable for an accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to seek bail on constitutional grounds when his acts are against the interests of the State and society, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told the Bombay High Court.
Through an affidavit filed this week, the agency opposed the regular bail plea filed by Mahesh Raut, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018. Raut sought bail invoking Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
… A Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and SG Dige posted Raut’s bail for hearing on July 12.
Read more

NIA Opposes Bail Plea of Bhima Koregaon Case Accused Mahesh Raut, Citing Anti-State Acts

27/06/2023

Free Press Journal / by Urvi Mahajani

The NIA argues that seeking relief on constitutional grounds is unfounded when the accused’s actions themselves are against the welfare of the state and society.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has vehemently opposed the bail plea of Mahesh Raut, an accused in the Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon case, arguing that it is unjustifiable for someone charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to seek bail on constitutional grounds when their actions are contrary to the interests of the State and society.
Read more

Also read:
● 4 accused seek bail from Bombay HC on parity with Sudha Bharadwaj (India Today / March 2023)
● Gadchiroli’s 300 Gram Sabhas Pass Resolution in Support of Activist Mahesh Raut (The Wire / Oct 2018)
● Mining In Gadchiroli – Building A Castle Of Injustices (Countercurrents / June 2017)

Institutionalisation of injustice the order of the day, says noted journalist-author

Institutionalisation of injustice the order of the day, says noted journalist-author

The Telegraph / by Achintya Ganguly

P. Sainath said this while delivering the second Father Stan Swamy memorial lecture on ‘Governance by gagging and the moral universe of media’
Earlier the media was expected to speak the truth to the power that be but now it also needs to speak the truth about that power.
Magsaysay award-winning journalist-author P. Sainath said this while delivering the second Father Stan Swamy memorial lecture on “Governance by gagging and the moral universe of media” at XISS auditorium in Ranchi on Sunday afternoon.
Read more

Karnataka High Court advocate says ‘legal system is under attack from fascism’

Karnataka High Court advocate says ‘legal system is under attack from fascism’

The Hindu / by Nellore Sravani

The legal system is under attack from fascism, and there is a need to recognise the pattern in which this is being done and fight it, says Clifton D’Rozario, an advocate from the Karnataka High Court.
Speaking at a seminar on ‘Protection of Constitutional Values – Role of State Lawyers’, organised by the All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice (AILAJ) in Vijayawada on June 25 (Sunday), Mr. Rozario, who is the general secretary of AILAJ, said the Babri Masjid case, the Justice Loya case, the Bhima Koregaon case point out to this pattern, where the judiciary seemed hesitant to go against the government.
Read more

Digital archive on Adivasis named after Father Stan Swamy / Justice for Stan Swamy

Digital archive on Adivasis named after Father Stan Swamy / Justice for Stan Swamy

Independent filmmaker sets up digital archive on Adivasis named after Father Stan Swamy

25/06/2023

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

The Stan Swamy Archive of Adivasi Narratives is available on YouTube as a repository of videos on the tribal way of life, interviews with achievers and common Adivasis and their problems
An independent filmmaker and poet has set up a digital archive on Adivasis named after Father Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who died in custody in July 2021 and became a symbol of State repression.
Read more

Stan Swamy Commemorative Convention

by Justice for Father Stan Swamy / @FreeFrStanSwamy
Stan Swamy Commemorative Convention
Children’s Theatre Park, Ernakulam
5th July,
3 p.m. IST

Equality, Liberty, Fraternity: During Emergency and at Present

by Justice for Father Stan Swamy / @FreeFrStanSwamy / program by (PUCL Delhi)
Gandhi Peace Foundation,
New Delhi
24 June,
5.30 p.m. IST

Also read:
● Vigil for Stan Swamy (jesuits.org.uk / June 2023)
● Remembering Stan Swamy. July 5, 2022

Six (of Many) Reasons Why PM Modi’s Words on Democracy in the White House Ring Hollow

Six (of Many) Reasons Why PM Modi’s Words on Democracy in the White House Ring Hollow


#ModiNotWelcome /
Modi Visit Protests and other Actions (kractivist.org)

 

The Wire / by Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

There is a world of gap between what the prime minister preaches at global events and what his government practices. Although Modi has denied promoting any form of discrimination under his rule, it is evident that he is blatantly misleading the world.
…
Here are a few instances which contradict the Prime Minister’s assertions in the White House.

The Elgar Parishad case
Five years have passed but most of the 16 arrested activists, all renowned for their life-long advocacy of civil liberties and opposition to any form of discrimination against people living on the margins, are still in jail.
Read more

PUCL: Five Years of Bhima Koregaon – Release Them All (video)

PUCL: Five Years of Bhima Koregaon – Release Them All (video)


hindi/en | 1h 55min | 2023

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

Friends,
Join us in remembering the 16 human rights activists who are still charged in the Bhima Koregaon case – many of whom have now spent more than 5 years in jail!

Let us remember
– the quiet dignity of Fr Stan Swamy, even as he lost his life in jail, incarcerated under false charges;
– the mounting injustice of Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson,  Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves  spending 5 years in jail,
– the trials and tribulations of the young Jyoti Jagtap, Ramesh Gaichor and Sagar Gorkhe of KKM,  and Prof Hany Babu, arrested later
– and Sudha Bharadwaj, Varvara Rao, Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha, who are on bail, but still not free

Watch recording @ PUCL fb

Who are the acclaimed ‘BK-16’? / HRDs and families await justice, five years down

Who are the acclaimed ‘BK-16’? / HRDs and families await justice, five years down

HRDs and families await justice, five years down

22/06/2023

cjp / by Sabah Maharaj

Faulty investigation and severe loopholes in investigation, surrounds the controversial BK-16 case. International outcry has not helped move the trial five years down even while the targeted languish, families await the return of their loved ones
In June 2021, European Union parliamentarians, Nobel Laureates, renowned academics, and internationally known figures wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, the then Chief Justice of India as well as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and other authorities in India, demanding to the release of political prisoners arrested with relation to the Elgar Parishad and Bhima Koregaon incident.
Amidst contested accusations of an anti-India conspiracy, militancy, and violence, five long years have passed since the BK-16 have been imprisoned without trial.
Read more

Who are the acclaimed ‘BK-16’?

22/06/2023

cjp / by CJP Team

Five years have passed, and human rights defenders (HRDs) and their families continue to await justice.

Surendra Gadling
Status: Detained without trial
Charges:Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) since June 2018
Location: Taloja Central Prison, Mumbai
Gadling is a human rights lawyer and a Dalit activist. Over time, Gadling established himself as a keen advocate and a key figure in cases related to extrajudicial killings, police misconduct, false accusations, and injustices against Dalits and Adivasis in the region…
Read more

Also read:
● Five years behind bars for five activists – Without bail, without charges being framed, without justice! – Various statements