en | 10:35 min | 2021
Is 84 year old Father Stan Swamy a TERRORIST? This week’s Straight Bat video blog is up and poses a simple Qs that goes to the heart of a flawed an inhuman criminal justice system.
Watch here
hindi + en | 1h56min | 2021
Speakers: Kavita Srivastava, Nivedita Menon, Kavita Krishnan, Meera Sanghamitra, Sabika Naqvi, Lara Jesani; Moderated by Banojyotsna Lahiri.
The Month of May marks one year of arrest of equal citizenship activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita and 1000 days of wrongful incarceration of Human Rights lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj. All three are fearless voices of dissent, dreamers of a equitable and just tomorrow.
Join this session honouring all the brave and unapologetic women who refuse to be silenced despite the continuous intimidation by this fascist regime and resist the institutionalized discrimination against women.
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The Wire / by The Wire Staff
“Given his age and health condition, I urgently appeal to the relevant authorities to consider his release on humanitarian grounds!” Bärbel Kofler has said.
Bärbel Kofler, the German Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance, has expressed concern about the continued incarceration of Adivasi rights activist and Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy and said that he should be released on humanitarian grounds.
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Mid-day-com / by Nascimento Pinto
St. Peter’s Church in Bandra put out a message recently in support of Elgar Parishad-accused Father Stan Swamy on its board facing Hill Road. The message on the board, which was spotted and shared online by several locals reads, “We pray for Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy in jail for two thirty three days and counting”. The 84-year-old Jesuit priest is soon going to be shifted to Holy Family Hospital, which is near the church, for 15 days, according to an order by the Bombay High Court on Friday.
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By American Bar Association
WASHINGTON, May 28, 2021 — The American Bar Association is deeply concerned about the continued pretrial detention of minority-rights advocates in the Bhima Koregaon case in India. As many of the accused are over the age of 65 and have serious medical conditions, these activists are at high risk for contracting COVID-19 as India deals with a substantial surge in cases.
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Also read: Should the Bhima Koregaon 16 be left to die? (By Jyoti Punwani, May 17)
The Indian Express / by Payoshi Roy
Parkinson’s has ravaged the body of the Jesuit priest, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Why won’t the court listen to compelling reason and judicial conscience?
The court has again denied bail in a UAPA case, but now the failure to protect rights has been more egregious. On May 21, Father Stan Swamy’s disease-ravaged body shook as he implored the Bombay High Court for medical bail. Accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, a gargantuan investigation into an alleged Maoist conspiracy to overthrow the Indian state, 84-year-old Swamy has been in custody for eight months.
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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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17/05/2021
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
In a letter addressed to the Maharashtra chief minister, activists pointed out that Swamy, who had been arrested last year in the ongoing investigation in the Elgar Parishad case, was a Parkinson’s disease patient.
The Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, a coalition of people’s organisations and activists in the state, has urged the Maharashtra government to immediately shift tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, who is currently lodged at Taloja jail, to a hospital and be provided with medical treatment.
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17/05/2021
The Quint / by The Quint
Stan Swamy was arrested on 9 October 2020 for his alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018.
Calling attention to the poor health condition of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy inside the Taloja jail, friends and families demanded immediate medical attention.
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17/05/2021
The Times of India / by Jaideep Deogharia
The Society of Jesuits, Ranchi Archdiocese and Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM) have appealed to the chief minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, to ensure a Covid test, proper treatment and vaccination for octogenariah Father Stan Swamy and others who are in jail in connection to the Bhima-Koregaon violence case.
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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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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)
The Hans India / by Hans News Service
Bengaluru: All India Lawyers’ Association For Justice (AILAJ) on Saturday issued a statement demanding the release all the jailed activists, advocates and political prisoners.
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