solidarity – Page 23 – free them all

Report: LRS Webinar on the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)

02/08/2021 Asha

By Lok Raj Sangathan

Over a hundred and fifty people from all over India, and a few Indians abroad too, participated in an online event organised by Lok Raj Sangathan on the pressing issue of the draconian UAPA.
It began with a presentation explaining the history of the UAPA and other similar laws like TADA and POTA. It showed how authoritarian laws were made more repressive over the years; explained the provisions in the UAPA at present which render it totally brutal and violative of basic human rights.
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India National Justice Day celebrates Father Stan Swamy

29/07/2021 Asha

India National Justice Day celebrates Father Stan Swamy

29/07/2021

Vatican News / by Vatican News staff

Indian citizens, concerned about values enshrined in the country’s Constitution, observed July 28 as National Justice Day in honour of late the Jesuit rights activist.
Christians and citizens of India joined hands on Wednesday to observe National Justice Day as an expression of their solidarity with late Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, a human rights activist who died in custody.
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Justice for Stan Swamy: Candlelight march held

29/07/2021

The Hindu / by Staff Reporter

Participants urge Centre to free human rights’ defenders and undertrial prisoners
Bengaluru: Demanding justice for the late Fr. Stan Swamy and all unjustly accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, the faculty and students of various institutions and representatives of civil societies observed a silent candlelight march on Museum Road on Wednesday.
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Stan Swamy’s death another moment of awakening in journey to affirm faith in Constitution: Karnataka Jesuit provincial

29/07/2021

The Indian Express / by Express Web Desk

“Amidst growing inequalities, violence, atrocities, discrimination, and exclusion in our country, ‘not to be a silent spectator is the message that Father Stan left for us,” Fr Dionysius Vaz SJ, provincial of Karnataka Jesuit Province said.
Nearly a month after the death of Father Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case, the demand for justice to the late Jesuit priest continued in Bengaluru as members of various civil societies and faculty and students of several institutions carried out a silent candlelight march.
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Video: A letter poem to Professor Hany Babu

28/07/2021 Maya

en | 2.47min | 2021

Maktoob / by Shivangi Mariam Raj

Delhi University professor, scholar in linguistics, and noted anti-caste activist Hany Babu completes one year in prison under draconian UAPA in Elgar Parishad case.
Hany Babu’s student at Delhi University and an academic publishing professional Shivangi Mariam Raj wrote this poem “Dear Hany, This is just to say” in November last year, four months Hany’s arrest by NIA. (You can read the full poem here.)
Voice: Farzana Rowena, daughter of Hany Babu
Graphics: Shaheen Abdulla
Watch video

Protest to seek justice for Stan Swamy / Remembering the revolutionary who challenged everything

24/07/2021 Maya

Ranchi, July 23

Pan India agitations protesting ‘institutional murder’ of Fr Stan

24/07/2021

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

The protests are part of a series of public observances called by rights groups, trade unions, Christian organisations, Left parties and their student and youth wings
Human rights activists, civil society groups, mass organisations and trade union members staged agitations in Jharkhand, Delhi and other parts of the country on Friday in protest against the “institutional murder” of Father Stan Swamy.
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Delhi, July 23

Kolkata, July 23

In Jharkhand, Stan Swamy’s Friends and Colleagues Vow to Keep His Fight Alive

22/07/2021

The Wire / by Santosh K. Kiro

A fortnight after tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy’s death, his friends and those he worked were are still in mourning – and also determined to take forward his work.
On July 18, Swamy’s name was engraved on a stone in Bagaicha, the centre he had developed in Ranchi two decades ago to fight for the tribal cause. Every other day, different tribal communities from across Jharkhand are arranging meetings to pay tribute to the activist.
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OPEN NATIONAL CALL: DEFEND RIGHT TO DISSENT

July 2021

Issued by several organizations across the country

Join National Action to Defend Democracy:
Defend Right to Dissent,
Repeal Sedition Law,
UAPA and Repressive State Laws,
Restore Right to Bail

Dear Friends,
The Institutional murder of the 84-year-old Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy in judicial custody on 5th July 2021 has brought home to all of us the urgency of the need to take up the defence of democracy against repressive laws.
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Remembering Stan Swamy, the revolutionary who challenged everything – including the Church

21/07/2021

Scroll.in / by Jyoti Bahen Urumpil, The India Forum

He was a fiery, ruthless messiah for the oppressed and exploited.
Stan Swamy’s mortal remains have been placed reverently with proper dedication. We all know that his spirit and commitment will live forever in the whole world. Swamy was gifted with a good intellect and a warm, tender heart that could almost burst out of anger for justice.
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Webinar: Human Rights Defenders in India: Stories from the Trenches

22/07/2021 Maya

By International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India (InSAF India)

Saturday, 31 July 2021
7 pm (IST)
Register here

We mourn the institutional murder of Father Stan Swamy that has fully exposed to the world the machinations of Indian state agencies and a compromised judiciary.

Dear friends,
As a growing number of human rights defenders are being incarcerated using charges of sedition, terrorism and anti-national activities, other in the movements and causes they have stood for and struggled with through constitutional means, now, in turn, are fighting for their release. It is clear the state is determined to silence these activists by any means necessary, framing them in false cases and denying them bail repeatedly.
– Why was Father Stan and his centre in Ranchi, Jharkhand (Bagaicha) such a threat to the state?
– How are corporations/commercial interests complicit with the state in trying to suppress the movements of such grassroots organizations and eliminate these activists?
– How does the Indian legal system enable those in power to rule by law instead of governing under a rule of law?
Through this webinar we hope to shine a light on how grassroots organizations and activists have stood up to the carceral state and its allied interests, and what support the international community can provide.
…

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Open National Call: Defend Right to Dissent, Repeal Sedition Law, UAPA and Repressive State Laws

22/07/2021 Maya

Call issued by several organizations across the country

Join National Action to Defend Democracy:

Defend Right to Dissent,

Repeal Sedition Law,

UAPA and Repressive State Laws,

Restore Right to Bail

Dear Friends,

The Institutional murder of the 84-year-old Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy in judicial custody on 5th July 2021 has brought home to all of us the urgency of the need to take up the defence of democracy against repressive laws. Father Stan, who spent a lifetime working with Adivasis in Jharkhand in defence of their rights, was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case even though he had no connection with it and the police did not require him for any investigation. Father Stan died waiting for a chance to clear his name. In denying Fr Stan bail, the NIA judge, D. E. Kothalikar argued that “the collective interest of the community” outweighed Fr. Stan’s right to personal liberty. His death should shake the conscience of the nation and the judiciary as it “brings to an end a stark tale of injustice – one that has left the highest institutions of India’s justice system diminished.” But even after Father Stan’s death, the same court denied bail to Anand Teltumbde, another member of the BK-16, as the advocates, artists, journalists and intellectuals who have been imprisoned under the Bhima Koregaon case are called. …

Jharkhand CM Pays Tributes To Stan Swamy / Death in custody of Stan Swamy is devastating: UN

15/07/2021 Maya

Surrey (Canada), July 2021

Stan Swamy’s Death Will Forever Remain a Stain on India’s Human Rights Record: UN Expert

15/07/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Swamy’s case should remind all states that human rights defenders and all those detained without sufficient legal basis, should be released, said Mary Lawlor, UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders.
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India: Death in custody of priest Stan Swamy is devastating – UN expert (Press Release)

15/07/2021

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders / by Mary Lawlor

The death in custody of Catholic priest Stan Swamy, a renowned human rights and social justice advocate for over four decades, will forever remain a stain on India’s human rights record, a UN human rights expert said today.
I was devastated to hear that Father Stan, a Jesuit priest who had dedicated much of his life to defending the rights of indigenous peoples and the Adivasi minority, died in custody on July 5, despite many requests for his release as his health deteriorated in prison,” she said.
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Stan Swamy’s death: Left parties stage protest outside Raj Bhavan in Ranchi

15/07/2021

ANI / by ANI

Over a week since Stan Swamy passed away in judicial custody in a Mumbai hospital after being denied bail, Left parties and other organsisations on Thursday staged a protest and sat in dharna outside Raj Bhavan here in Ranchi demanding a judicial probe into the death of the rights activist as well as the release of all political prionsers.
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Jharkhand Chief Minister Pays Tributes To Stan Swamy In Memorial Service

15/07/2021

NDTV / by PTI

Jharkhand has never lagged behind when it comes to making sacrifices be it tribal icon Birsa Munda or Father Stan Swamy and they will be remembered for their invaluable contribution to the society, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said on Thursday.
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BK16: Why Is The Judiciary Still Sleeping? / Demise of Father Stan Swamy Marks Death of India’s Conscience

15/07/2021 Rani

BK16: Why Is The Judiciary Still Sleeping?

15/07/2021

Countercurrents / by Sangeeta Kamat

The Bhima Koregaon15 spending a single additional night in jail is a travesty of justice.
The third report by Arsenal on evidence planting became public on July 6, with even more damning evidence corroborating the first two reports in February and April that confirmed extensive evidence planting on Rona Wilson’s hard drive, the first of the arrestees in the BK16 case. The third report meticulously documents transcripts of the malware and external activity on co-defendant Surendra Gadling’s hard drive from 2016 onward by the same attacker! Should not the Indian judiciary take account of the Arsenal reports to declare a fresh line of investigation into the so-called Bhima Koregaon case and release the 15 immediately?
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Demise of Father Stan Swamy Marks Death of India’s Conscience

15/07/2021

The Leaflet / by Aninda Dey

There was hardly a whimper in response to the sudden arrest of Father Stan Swamy on unproven charges of links to Maoists and sparking violence at Bhima Koregaon. His months-long incarceration under the UAPA, inhuman treatment, and tragic death is a dangerous trend that we Indians cannot ignore, for anybody could be next, writes Aninda Dey.
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Also read:
►Evidence found on a second Indian activist’s computer was planted, report says (Washington Post, July 6, 2021)
► Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire, July 6, 2021)

Release BK15 and all Political Prisoners / Protest & Solidarity: Dhanbad – Bangalore – Varanasi – Bhilai – Pune

14/07/2021 Rani

Pan-India movement call by Shahid Father Stan Swamy Nyayik Sangarsh Morcha

14/07/2021

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

The morcha has held discussions with the Aituc, Intuc, SFI and social organisations for an all-India coordination committee
Trade unions, farmer unions, student unions and social organisations protesting against the death of Father Stan Swamy in judicial custody will form a coordination committee to submit memoranda to governors of different states for the repeal of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and release of rights activists arrested under the anti-terror law on allegedly flimsy grounds.
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Bangalore, July 14

Varanasi demands justice for Fr Stan Swamy

13/07/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

In memory of Fr Stan, Varanasi demands release of Bhima-Koregaon accused and other political prisoners
The Samiksha Sanskrit Manch, a Varanasi-based citizens’ group has demanded the release of those arrested under draconian laws.The demand was made during a tribute meeting and candle march organised on July 12, 2021 in memory of Adivasi rights activist and Jesuit priest Fr. Stan Swamy.
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Bhilai, July 13

By Progressive Writers Association, PUCL, AITUC, ACTU, TUCI, Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha Mazdoor Karyakarta Samiti, Mahila Mukti Morcha & Rela among others

Release Political Prisoners: CJP to Maharashtra CM

13/07/2021

By Citizens for Justice and Peace

In wake of Fr. Stan’s passing, CJP appeals for release of remaining Bhima Koregaon accused.
Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) has once again written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, urging him to consider recommending to the high-power committee, that the remaining accused in the Bhima Koregaon case be released on interim bail. There are still 14 people languishing in jail after Fr. Stan Swamy passed away and Varavara Rao was released on medical grounds.
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NIA, NHRC, Modi govt and judicial system executed plot against Stan Swamy: Maoists

13/07/2021

The New Indian Express / by Mukesh Ranjan

The CPI (Maoists) has demanded immediate release of all the activists lodged in jail in Bhima Koregaon case.
The Maoists on Tuesday alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) framed Stan Swamy in a fake case and demanded immediate release of all the activists lodged in jail in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The CPI (Maoists) also demanded the withdrawal of all the cases filed against them and appealed to the writers, artists, singers, lawyers, and democratic intelligentsia to support them.
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Murder by the system: Cops, activists launch into verbal clashes at protest site

13/07/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Claiming that Swamy’s death was “murder by the system”, and that he was treated inhumanly after his arrest, activists gathered under the banner of ‘Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerna Abhiyaan’ and staged a protest.
Heated arguments broke out between police and activists gathered at the Pune district collectorate during a protest on Monday against the death of Father Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case.
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London, July 10

South Asia Solidarity in London, outside the High Comm of India.

Postcard to Prison #postcardtoprison

09/07/2021 Asha

By InSAF India

The Bhima Koregaon (BK-16) are 16 human rights activists in India who are being imprisoned on charges of “terrorism” that United Nations experts have condemned as an effort to suppress political dissent. Join us in writing solidarity messages to the BK-16. InSAF India will regularly collect the messages and send them to the Taloja and Byculla prisons.
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