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Video: Father Stan Swamy’s 84th birthday celebrations online

Video: Father Stan Swamy’s 84th birthday celebrations online


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

Also watch: Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution (PUCL, Jan 2021)

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)

In letters, Stan Swamy speaks about co-inmates, life behind bars

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.
Read more

Special NIA Court’s Reasons For Denying Bail To Father Stan Swamy [read order]

Special NIA Court’s Reasons For Denying Bail To Father Stan Swamy [read order]

Special NIA Court’s Reasons For Denying Bail To Father Stan Swamy [read order]

24/03/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

A Special NIA Court, in Mumbai, has held that a police officer’s internal report can be considered while rejecting the bail application of an accused even after a charge sheet has been filed, if the investigating agency was granted permission for further investigation.
Special judge DE Kothalikar cited a last-minute report by an Assistant Investigating Officer to the Superintendent of Police NIA while rejecting 83-year-old tribal rights activist, Father Stan Swamy’s bail application, on Monday.
Read more/read order

Collective interest of community outweighs right of personal liberty of Stan Swamy: Special NIA Court while rejecting bail to Swamy [read order]

23/03/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The material placed on record prima facie indicated that Swamy was carrying out activities to “overthrow the democracy of the nation”, the Court said.
Collective interest of community will outweigh the right of personal liberty, the Special Court observed on Monday in its order refusing to grant bail to Stan Swamy, accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence.
Read more
Read order, documented by Bar & Bench (PDF): Fr__Stan_Swamy_v__State_of_Maharashtra

Stan Swamy had hatched a ‘serious conspiracy’ to overthrow government, says NIA court order

23/03/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The 83-year-old Jesuit priest was denied bail by the court on Monday in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
The special National Investigation Agency court that rejected the bail petition of 83-year-old Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy said that prima facie he had conspired with members of a banned Maoist organisation to create unrest in India and to overthrow the government, PTI reported.
Read more

NIA Court Refuses Bail To Stan Swamy In Bhima Koregaon Case

22/03/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Special NIA Court Mumbai on Monday refused to grant bail to 83-year-old Father Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist, from Ranchi, in Jharkhand, accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon – Elgaar Parishad case. Special Judge under the NIA Act DE Kothlikar passed the order dismissing the bail application, which had also cited medical grounds on account of Parkinsons disease of Stan Swamy.
Read more

Stan Swamy’s bail plea rejected by NIA court

22/03/2021

Gauri Lankesh News / by Gauri Lankesh News Desk

… Swamy’s lawyer claimed that the evidence allegedly relied upon by the NIA was correspondence with various people to seek legal aid for Swamy’s organisation, Persecuted Prisoners Solidarity Committee (PPSC), which works for undertrial Adivasis and Dalits falsely accused as Maoists…
The NIA chargesheet filed against Swamy had claimed that he is a member of banned organization CPI (Maoist), and that he was given the responsibility of spreading its activities after the arrest of many party members. Purportedly, Swamy was a staunch supporter of organisations like Vistapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan and People’s Union for Civil Liberties involved in activities for CPI (Maoists), it was submitted.
Read more

Special NIA court rejects Stan Swamy’s bail plea

22/03/2021

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

He has been working with tribals since decades and is currently lodged at Taloja Central Jail after being arrested from Ranchi on October 9, 2020.
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Monday rejected the bail plea filed by Jesuit priest Stan Swamy in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case.
Read more

Stan Swamy’s bail plea order reserved, court to pronounce verdict on March 22

Stan Swamy’s bail plea order reserved, court to pronounce verdict on March 22

Stan Swamy’s bail plea order reserved, court to pronounce verdict on March 22

17/03/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Swamy’s bail plea was deferred on March 11 after the NIA filed an application to place on record additional documents in the case.
A Mumbai court on Tuesday reserved the order on the bail plea of activist and Jesuit priest Stan Swamy, arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, reported Bar & Bench. The special National Investigation Agency court will pronounce its verdict on March 22.
Read more

NIA court to pass order on Stan Swamy bail on March 22

16/03/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday said it would pass an order on Father Stan Swamy’s bail in the Bhima Koregaon violence case on March 22.
Fr Swamy, 83, a Jesuit priest and activist, has been working with tribals for decades and is currently lodged at the Taloja Central Jail after being arrested from Ranchi on October 9, 2020.
Read more

by Bar & Bench (March 16):
+++ Special NIA Court will pronounce its verdict in the bail application filed by #ElgarParishadcase accused Stan Swamy on March 22, 2021+++
+++ In the previous hearing, NIA had filed an application to place on record additional documents to be considered before the bail application is decided +++
+++ The Special Court allowed the application which was essentially to invite the Court’s attention to the case diary of the investigation. Swamy’s lawyers opposed the application stating that once chargesheet was filed then case diary cannot be considered +++
+++ After hearing both sides, the Court has closed the bail application for orders +++

Stan Swamy’s bail plea deferred by Mumbai court, next hearing on March 15

11/03/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The NIA has filed some additional documents in the case and Swamy’s lawyer sought time to respond to them.
The bail plea of activist and Jesuit priest Stan Swamy, arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, was deferred by a special court in Mumbai on Thursday, reported PTI.
The court, which was likely to pass the order on Thursday, deferred it after the National Investigation Agency filed some additional documents in the case and Swamy’s lawyer sought time to respond to them. The matter will now be heard on March 15, reported The Indian Express.
Read more

Fr Stan Swamy’s bail plea order to be given on Mar 11

27/02/2021

The Times of India / by TNN

A special NIA court is likely to pronounce an order on the bail plea of Jesuit priest and tribal right rights activist, Fr Stan Swamy, arrested in in Elgar Parishad case on March 11.
NIA had opposed his bail plea and submitted that there was sufficient evidence against the 83-year-old, and the offence was grave.
Read more

NIA court order on Stan Swamy’s bail plea on March 2

24/02/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

Stan Swamy sought bail on the ground that the prosecution had failed to establish how he had taken part or committed or incited the commission of any unlawful activity.
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court will pass its order on Father Stan Swamy’s petition for bail in the Bhima Koregaon violence case on March 2.
Read more

Special Court set March 2 to announce the result of Stan Swamy’s bail application

19/02/2021

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

Suspicions are growing that the sick priest’s bail is being delayed for political reasons.
A special court is set to pronounce its verdict on the bail application of an elderly Indian Jesuit activist five months after his arrest and detention on charges of sedition.
The special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the federal anti-terror agency, has set March 2 to announce the result of the bail application of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy.
Read more

NIA Opposes Stan Swamy’s Bail; Calls PUCL, VVJVA ‘Maoist Fronts’

NIA Opposes Stan Swamy’s Bail; Calls PUCL, VVJVA ‘Maoist Fronts’

NIA Opposes Stan Swamy’s Bail; Calls PUCL, Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan ‘Maoist Fronts’

31/01/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The agency made the claim about the 30-year-old human rights body while arguing against the bail application moved by Father Stan Swamy.
In its latest, the National Investigation Agency handling the ongoing probe in the Elgar Parishad case has called a 30-year-old human rights body, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, a frontal organisation of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). The agency made the claim while arguing against the bail application moved by arrested human rights defender Father Stan Swamy. Similar claims were also made against Jharkhand-based Adivasi rights organisation Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan.
Read more

NIA says Stan Swamy is working to achieve the goals of CPI (Maoist)

30/01/2021

The Hindu / by Special Corrospondent

Central agency argues for rejection of bail petition.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday alleged that Father Stan Swamy, accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, was actually accomplishing the agenda of Communist Party of India (Maoist) under the pretence of voicing concerns of the tribal community. It said that his bail plea must be rejected.
Read more

Evidence against Sudha Bharadwaj ‘too poor’ to be admissible, says lawyer / A Peek into her Life and Journey

Evidence against Sudha Bharadwaj ‘too poor’ to be admissible, says lawyer / A Peek into her Life and Journey

Evidence against Sudha Bharadwaj ‘too poor’ to be admissible, says lawyer

25/01/2021

The Telegraph / by Basant Kumar Mohanty

Writers, activists and academics seek her release from jail, urge intelligentsia to break their silence.
Yug Chaudhary, lawyer of activist Sudha Bharadwaj who has been in custody since her arrest in the Bhima Koregaon case in 2018, on Sunday said the purported evidence against her lacked “sanctity” and was “too poor” to be admissible.
At a webinar, writers, activists and academics demanded that Bharadwaj be released from jail and urged the intelligentsia to follow her example and break their silence as the country’s institutions were no longer reliable.
Read more

A Peek into the Life and Journey of Sudha Bharadwaj

24/01/2021

The Leaflet / by People’s Union for Civil Liberties

Through a series of interviews with Sudha Bharadwaj, PUCL shows the grim reality of the people fighting in tribal areas for the land they own. The book titled ‘A LIFE IN LAW AND ACTIVISM: SUDHA BHARADWAJ SPEAKS’ shows her journey into fighting for the rights of people, her cases and the story of the people affected by these laws…
The following are edited excerpts from the book.
Read more

Sudha Bharadwaj on Why She Joined the Trade Union Movement and Became a Lawyer

24/01/2021

The Wire / by Santanu Chakraborty and Darshana Mitra

“We have to bring the Constitution to life. That’s where the lawyers and peoples’ organisations have to work together.”
The following is an excerpt from Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks: A Life in Law and Activism published by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties. Bharadwaj, a lawyer, trade unionist and rights activist, was arrested in 2018 in the Elgar Parishad case. The book is based on a long interview of Bharadwaj conducted before her arrest by two young lawyers, Santanu Chakraborty and Darshana Mitra.
Read more

‘My mother misses home often’, says Sudha Bharadwaj’s daughter during book release

24/01/2021

The Print / by The Print Team

A book titled ‘Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks: A Life in Law and Activism’, based on a long interview just before Bharadwaj’s arrest in 2018, was released Sunday.
A new e-book based on a long interview with human rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, who has been under arrest for more than two years now, was released Sunday.
The book, titled Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks: A Life in Law and Activism, is based on an interview conducted by lawyers Santanu Chakraborty and Darshana Mitra just before Bharadwaj was arrested in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case in 2018. It was released at a webinar by author Nayantara Sehgal.
Read more

PDF copy: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

24/01/2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties

Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Pictures credit: PUCL
Cover Design / Layout: Vinay Jain
Paperback: 316 pages

Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

Please download and share widely!
#RepealUAPA

Book release: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism [PDF copy]

Book release: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism [PDF copy]

PDF copy: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

24/01/2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties

Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Pictures credit: PUCL
Cover Design / Layout: Vinay Jain
Paperback: 316 pages

Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

Please download and share widely!
#RepealUAPA

Video – Book Release: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?

24/01/2021


en + hindi | 2h 53min | 2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties and more than 100 other organizations

Topic: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?
Sudha Bharadwaj, a renowned human rights lawyer, trade unionist, is one of 16 activists incarcerated in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case for more than 2 years. A long interview conducted with Sudha over several days before she was arrested is now being published as an online book “Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks – A Life in Law and Activism”, and will be released at this webinar by the well-known writer, Nayantara Sahgal. Sudha’s daughter, Maaysha, her lawyer Yug Chaudhary, social activist Harsh Mandar, historian Uma Chakravarti amongst other coworkers & colleagues, will also share their experiences and memories of working with her.
Watch video @ PUCL Facebook (videos)

Programme – click to enlarge
Videos: Persecution by Prosecution – PUCL and 100 Organisations demand: Repeal UAPA / Session Reports

Videos: Persecution by Prosecution – PUCL and 100 Organisations demand: Repeal UAPA / Session Reports

en | 2h 17min | 2021

The Leaflet / by People’s Union for Civil Liberties

PUCL India and over hundred organisations present:

Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution

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)

Also watch:
► Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj? (en + hindi | 2h 53min | Jan 2021)
► 100 Days of the incarceration of Fr. Stan Swamy (en + hindi | 3h | Jan 2021)

Session Report: Under UAPA, anything can be an offence based on flimsy evidence

22/01/2021

The Leaflet / by Megha Katheria

Bringing together lawyers, activists, and victims of UAPA, the second day of PUCL’s national consultation on repealing UAPA was packed with heart-wrenching stories of abuse and torture by the law. This underpinned the passionate launch of the campaign to repeal UAPA by PUCL and 100 other organisations. It is similar to the cohesive action by human rights organisations against TADA in 1990s and POTA in the early 2000s.
Read more

Session Report: PUCL and 100 Organisations demand the repeal of the UAPA

21/01/2021

The Leaflet / by Parvathi Sjiv

In a session packed with human stories of abuse and misuse of law where activists and commoners were abused, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)  began a three-day session on January 20th with over 100 other organisations comprising advocates, activists and others who spoke about the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Read more

UN voice raps government on Stan Swamy / Webinar Report: Defending Human Rights is not terrorism

UN voice raps government on Stan Swamy / Webinar Report: Defending Human Rights is not terrorism

UN voice raps government on Stan Swamy

17/01/2021

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

He is one of 16 rights activists, lawyers, writers and academics arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case and charged with Maoist links.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, on Friday evening criticised the Indian government’s treatment of human rights activists such as Father Stan Swamy.
Read more

Webinar report: Defending Human Rights is not terrorism!

16/01/2021

Sabrang / by Sabrang India

100 days behind bars, Fr. Stan Swamy continues to inspire.
At an online event titled I cannot be framed 110 human rights organisations, including Peoples Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), came together to stand in solidarity with Father Stan Swamy and 15 other accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. They came together to mark the hundred days of Father Stan Swamy’s incarceration and hail the efforts and struggle of all Human Rights Defenders.
Read more

UN representative: India doesn’t properly protect human rights defenders

16/01/2021

The Indian Express / by Aranya Shankar

Mary Lawlor was speaking at an online event marking 100 days of Swamy’s incarceration.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor Friday said India does not “properly protect human rights defenders”.
She also said she had written to the Indian government in November, “raising concerns” over Jesuit priest Stan Swamy’s arrest in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case, but had not yet received a response.
Read more

`Defending Human Rights is Not Terrorism’: UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Asks Release of Fr. Stan Swamy

16/01/2021

India Tomorrow / by Ishfaq-ul-Hassan

Pitching for the release of 83-year-old Father Stan Swamy, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights defenders Mary Lawlor expressed serious concern over the arbitrary targeting of human rights defenders in India using controversial Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Read more

Mary Lawlor UN Special Rapporteur HRDs (Jan 15, 2021):
On 3 Nov 2020, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, & I sent a letter to the Indian Government on the arbitrary detention of #humanrightsdefender Fr. Stan Swamy. This letter is now public. Our concerns in full

Also read/watch: VIDEO: 100 DAYS OF THE INCARCERATION OF FR. STAN SWAMY, SJ AND THE BRUTAL FACE OF THE INDIAN STATE

2020 Witnesses the Deliberate Destruction of Democratic Rights Organizations in India

2020 Witnesses the Deliberate Destruction of Democratic Rights Organizations in India


Solidarity poster, July 2020

Groundxero / by Partho Sarothi Ray

The large scale destruction of lives and livelihoods in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in India and its inept handling by the government has been accompanied by another sort of destruction, much more deliberate and calculated. It is the destruction of the democratic rights organizations (DROs) of India, as part of a vicious plan of the BJP government to irreparably shrink the democratic space for a future that we can only tremble to think about.
Read more

Rights award for jailed Stan Swam

Rights award for jailed Stan Swam

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

The award would be sent to the priest at Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai and the money to his organisation in Ranchi.
Father Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old jailed priest, has been selected for an award honouring the late Mukundan C. Menon, journalist and founder of the human rights organisation People’s Union for Civil Liberties.
Read more