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Tag: prison conditions

What does state’s treatment of pre-trial political prisoners tell us?

What does state’s treatment of pre-trial political prisoners tell us?

The Indian Express / by Harsh Mander

Harsh Mander writes: It’s been three years since Bhima Koregaon accused were incarcerated by a state that continues to oppose bail for them, despite Covid and other grave threats to their health.
June 6 was a sombre milestone — the third anniversary of the incarceration of five rights activists in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case. Eleven more were subsequently jailed for the same conspiracy. These 16 women and men — the BK-16 accused — are intellectuals, lawyers, a poet, professors, cultural and rights activists and an 84-year-old Jesuit priest, all with sterling records of service with India’s most oppressed people.
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Violating the rights of older persons: Why Stan Swamy’s continued detention is so unjust

Violating the rights of older persons: Why Stan Swamy’s continued detention is so unjust

Scroll.in / by Arvind Narrain

The activist, by virtue of his age as well as his health condition, should be detained – if at all – only within his home.
On 28 May, tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy was finally shifted to Mumbai’s Holy Family Hospital for medical treatment on the orders of the Bombay High Court. However one cannot forget that the Jesuit priest was in Taloja Jail for over seven months, along with 15 others in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Mahesh Raut, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor test Covid positive at Taloja jail

Mahesh Raut, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor test Covid positive at Taloja jail

Bhima Koregaon case: 3 accused test Covid positive at Taloja jail

03/06/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Mahesh Raut, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor have tested positive after an RT-PCR drive was conducted at Taloja.
After Father Stan Swamy tested positive for Covid-19 at Holy Family Hospital, an RT-PCR test drive was conducted at Taloja jail for all inmates. The Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case accused Mahesh Raut, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor have tested positive.
According to Republican Panthers Jatiya Antachi Chalwal activist Harshali Potdar, who was also questioned by the NIA in the Bhima Koregaon matter, the three accused persons have been quarantined in a very congested room in the Central jail. Despite testing positive, neither medical treatment of any kind has started, nor they have been given a medical diet to follow.
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Co-inmates of Stan Swamy who attended to him test negative

03/06/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Stan Swamy, the 84-year old Jesuit priest arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case, requires assistance to complete his daily chores in jail.
Days after Father Stan Swamy tested positive for Covid-19, two of his co-inmates who were attending to him, tested negative at Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.
One of his co-accused, Arun Ferreira, and another inmate usually help him in jail.
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In Maharashtra, Prison Quarantine Centres Are More Harrowing than Main Jail Barracks

In Maharashtra, Prison Quarantine Centres Are More Harrowing than Main Jail Barracks

The Wire / by Sukanya Shanta

While some have a crushing lack of space, others have no clean water or trained staff to take care of ill prisoners.
In the last two months, Shweta Salve*, a 42-year-old undertrial prisoner, fell ill three times.
Twice, because of a stomach infection – a severe yet common illness that most prisoners learn to live with – and then fever, which then led to a COVID-19 positive report. Each time she complained of ill health, her lawyer had to move court to ensure she could access medical treatment outside the Byculla women prisons.
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Two Days After HC Orders Hospitalisation, Stan Swamy Tests Positive for COVID-19

Two Days After HC Orders Hospitalisation, Stan Swamy Tests Positive for COVID-19

Two Days After HC Orders Hospitalisation, Stan Swamy Tests Positive for COVID-19

30/05/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shanta

Swamy, who is suffering from advanced Parkinson’s disease, has been in jail since October last year.
Mumbai: Eighty-four-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy has tested positive for COVID-19.
Swamy, one of the 16 persons to be arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, had been suffering from fever, severe cough, headache and upset stomach for the past few weeks. He was, however, finally hospitalised only two days ago following the Bombay high court direction to move him to a hospital for 15 days.
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Activist Stan Swamy tests positive for coronavirus after being moved to private hospital

30/05/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

On Friday, the Bombay High Court had ordered the 84-year-old to be moved to a hospital for 15 days.
Tribal rights activist and Jesuit priest Stan Swamy tested positive for the coronavirus infection after he was moved to a hospital, his friend and colleague Father Joseph Xavier said on Sunday.
Swamy, who is in custody in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, is currently at the Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai. On Friday, the Bombay High Court had ordered Swamy to be moved to a hospital for 15 days.
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Stan Swamy put on oxygen support

30/05/2021

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

The octogenarian was admitted to the hospital around 9.50pm on Friday.
Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy is on oxygen support at Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai.
Director of the Bangalore-based Indian Social Institute, Father Joe Xavier, who is coordinating with the Jesuits on Father Swamy, told The Telegraph that the octogenarian was admitted to the hospital around 9.50pm on Friday.
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Judiciary comes to the aid of Bhima Koregaon accused

Judiciary comes to the aid of Bhima Koregaon accused

Deccan Herald / by Jyoti Punwani

Amid the spread of Covid in jails, it took a HC order to direct jail authorities to give all prisoners their hospital reports.
Imagine being taken to hospital and not being given your medical report by those who took you there. We are talking about adults, all of whom are currently in the custody of the State. Their lives are thus the responsibility of the State.
Without their medical reports, how can prisoners know whether they are being given the treatment recommended by the hospital? The 16 intellectuals accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, lodged in two Mumbai jails, have been forced to live in this state of helpless ignorance ever since the pandemic began.
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Also read:< a href="https://www.rediff.com/news/column/jyoti-punwani-should-the-bhima-koregaon-16-be-left-to-die/20210517.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Should the Bhima Koregaon 16 be left to die? (Rediff.com, May 17)

The pandemic has put the spotlight on inhumane conditions in Indian prisons

The pandemic has put the spotlight on inhumane conditions in Indian prisons


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

The Indian Express / by Teesta Setalvad

They are overcrowded, unhygienic and have little oversight. There’s a need to expand use of house arrest as punitive measure.
The prison, it is famously said, holds a mirror to society. The conditions within prisons, to stretch this analogy, reflect the quality of any democracy. By that yardstick, India needs soul-searching. Not only has our collapsing criminal justice system ensured a mockery of reasonably speedy trials but tardy and often skewed (if not biased) investigations and prosecutions have ensured that undertrials languish in jails for decades. Courts rarely step in to ensure a thorough investigation and robust prosecutions, or a time-bound conclusion to trials.
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► Also read/ watch: Bhima Koregaon, COVID-19 And Custodial Apathy In Jails / Video + Press Release (May 15)
► Also read: Crowded Jails & COVID: 16 Bhima Koregaon Accused’s Kin Share Fears (The Quint, May 18)

Bombay HC Says Committee of Doctors Required to Examine Stan Swamy / Sets up video call with Swamy on May 21

Bombay HC Says Committee of Doctors Required to Examine Stan Swamy / Sets up video call with Swamy on May 21

Bombay HC Says Committee of Doctors Required to Examine Stan Swamy

19/05/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Taloja jail, like most other prisons in the state, lacks proper medical facilities. Over 3,500 prisoners here are handled by three Ayurvedic doctors.
A day after Father Stan Swamy was taken to Taloja Central prison from JJ hospital, the Bombay high court has directed the prison authorities to make arrangements to send him back to the hospital. The division bench of Justices S.J. Kathawalla and Surendra Tavade have also directed the dean of JJ hospital to constitute a committee of doctors including a neuro-physician, ENT, orthopaedic, general physician and any other doctor who might be required to examine Swamy.
The report has to be submitted to the court on May 21, when it is scheduled to hear the case again.
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Bombay HC sets up video call with Father Stan Swamy on May 21

19/05/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

It has also directed JJ Hospital’s Dean to constitute a committee of experts to examine the 84-year old’s health.
During the bail hearing of Bhima Koregaon case accused, Father Stan Swamy, the Bombay High Court has ordered Taloja Central jail to set up a video call with him on May 21 at 10:30 A.M.
The court said, “Taloja having video conferencing facilities, they shall arrange a meeting of the appellant with the court on 21st May at 10.30 A.M.” Father Swamy was taken to JJ Hospital yesterday but was brought back to Taloja jail around midnight.
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Activist Stan Swamy taken back to jail after visiting hospital for tests

18/05/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Swamy’s colleague said he was taken to a hospital at 4.45 pm on Tuesday and brought back to jail before midnight.
Tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, who is in custody in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, was not shifted to a hospital on Tuesday, his colleague told Scroll.in. The 83-year-old’s health had deteriorated and the Jesuits, the Catholic religious order to which he belongs, had appealed to the Maharashtra government seeking medical attention for the activist.
… “The case comes up for hearing today [Wednesday] and we are told the prosecution will submit his medical report.”
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Jailed activist Stan Swamy shifted to JJ Hospital due to poor health

18/05/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Swamy, 84, suffers from Parkinson’s disease, and his health had deteriorated further recently.
Tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, who is in custody in connection to the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, was on Tuesday moved to JJ Hospital in Mumbai from Taloja Jail, where he was lodged, a relative of one of the other people arrested in the same matter told Scroll.in.
… Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court is likely to hear Swamy’s medical bail plea on Wednesday, PTI reported.
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Father Stan Swamy finally gets first Covid shot, health continues to deteriorate in jail [read medical note]

Father Stan Swamy finally gets first Covid shot, health continues to deteriorate in jail [read medical note]

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

His medical note filed before the Bombay High Court on poor facilities states that Taloja houses 3,251 inmates instead of its capacity of 2,124, with only three Ayurvedic doctors on duty.
Adivasi rights activist and Jesuit Priest Father Stan Swamy has finally been given the first dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 today. This despite the fact that the 84 year old who has multiple comorbidity issues has been eligible to take the vaccine since March 1, 2021. He was reportedly denied the vaccine earlier as he did not have his Aadhaar Card!
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Should the BK16 be left to die? / Crowded Jails & COVID: BK16 Accused’s Kin Share Fears

Should the BK16 be left to die? / Crowded Jails & COVID: BK16 Accused’s Kin Share Fears

Should the Bhima Koregaon 16 be left to die?

17/05/2021

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

Consider this:
In 2019, Father Stan Swamy, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, had to undergo an emergency appendicitis operation because he had insisted on working till the very last day. The doctor wondered how the then 82-year-old Jesuit priest had borne the pain so long.
In the seven months that he has spent in Taloja jail, not once has Father Stan complained, except to ask for a straw and a sipper because Parkinson’s disease doesn’t allow him to have a steady grip on his cup.
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Crowded Jails & COVID: 16 Bhima Koregaon Accused’s Kin Share Fears

17/05/2021

The Quint / by Mekhala Saran

“Please allow us to take care of them,” beseech their family and friends.
“It looks like once you are a prisoner, there is no value for your life,” said Dr Jenny Rowena, a Delhi University professor and wife of Dr Hany Babu, an undertrial prisoner, at a press conference, organised by friends and family of the 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Dr Babu is currently COVID-positive and admitted in Mumbai’s JJ Hospital with an acute eye infection that has affected his vision. Spreading to his cheeks and forehead, the infection has caused his eyes to bulge out.
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Also read/watch video: Bhima Koregaon, COVID-19 and custodial apathy in jails / Video + Press Release (May 15)