By United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner
News Release
GENEVA: – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday appealed to the Government of India to safeguard the rights of human rights defenders and NGOs, and their ability to carry out their crucial work on behalf of the many groups they represent…
Read full statement
The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee
MP and former Union minister Kanimozhi Karunanidhi condemned the arrest of the Father, who was born in Tamil Nadu.
Support continues to pour in from Opposition MPs along with social outfits and tribal activists for the release of octogenarian Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, arrested by the NIA earlier this month near Ranchi for alleged Maoist link and involvement in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Read more
19/10/2020
Click to enlarge
Matters India / by Arockiasamy Santhanam
Madurai: Catholic churches across Tamil Nadu October 18 expressed solidarity with Jesuit Father Stan Swamy, a native of the southern Indian state now who is in a Mumbai jail for alleged Maoists links.
During the Sunday Mass, Catholics prayed for the good health and immediate release of Father Stan. They also organized parish level-programs in front of the churches condemning the priest’s arrest and demanded his immediate release.
Read more
18/10/2020
The Telegraph / by Jhinuk Mazumdar
The priest should be released, otherwise all minorities will come together and agitate in the country, the Imam of Nakhoda Mosque said.
The Centre should release Father Stan Swamy, otherwise all minorities will come together and agitate, an Imam of Nakhoda Mosque said at the end of a silent walk on Park Street expressing solidarity with the 83-year-old Jesuit priest.
Read more
Tweet by Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha, Oct 18: Jharkhand: MLA Bandhu Tirkey has written to President, home minister and PM asking for immediate release of Stan Swamy, closure of bhima-koregaon case, repeal of UAPA and amendment in NIA rules to respect federalism.
17/10/2020
News 18 / by pti
Pune: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said a large number of people, including activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj and Anand Teltumbde, are under detention for their words, although none of them is accused of hitting anyone or possessing a gun. He also said that words and ideas may outlast power and authority.
Read more
17/10/2020
The Hindu / by Satyasundar Barik
All major non-BJP political parties and social activists on Saturday took to the streets in Ranchi, demanding the immediate release of Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old tribal rights activist, who was arrested last week by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with Bhima Koregaon case.
Read more
17/10/2020
More than 5,000 people formed a 4km human chain in Ranchi on Friday to express solidarity with octogenarian Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, arrested and jailed in Mumbai for alleged Maoist links, in Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case.
Many of the protestors, also lit candles, terming it a symbol of hope against the attempts to silence intellectuals and rights activists.
Friday’s congregation, part of ongoing protests by various groups, was led by Archbishop of Ranchi Felix Toppo and auxiliary bishop Theodore Mascarenhas.
Father Toppo’s banner read: “We demand justice”. Among the other slogans printed on posters were “Stop terrorizing activists”, “Stan is a worker for Dalit and Adivasi rights and not a terrorist”, “Everyone has human rights, stop branding them as terrorists” and “Release Stan Swamy—the voice of the oppressed”.
We received an update about a similar human chain in the same cause from Bengaluru as well.
17/10/2020
The Tablet / by Ruth Gledhill
Jesuits worldwide are mobilising in protest after an 84-year-old Jesuit priest and human rights activist was arrested in India accused of terrorist links.
Fr Stan Swamy SJ, a prominent and popular human rights activist, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency for alleged Maoist links on October 8.
Read more
17/10/2020
Gauri Lankesh News / by Rupesh Kumar Singh |Gauri Lankesh News Desk
Human Rights activist and intellectual Father Stan Swamy was arrested in relation to Bhima Koregaon Case, despite never having visited the spot.
Jharkhand capital Ranchi is witnessing large-scale unrest in response to the wrongful arrest of 83 year old Father Stan Swamy- a prominent Human Rights Activist engaged in the Bhima Koregaon case- from “Bagaicha” in Jharkhand on 8th October by the Mumbai NIA.
Read more
17/10/2020
National Herald / by VP Sharan
Jharkhand has been witnessing widespread protest against arrest of 82-year old Christian priest Father Stan Swamy by NIA for his alleged involvement in Bhima Koregaon violence.
Members of civil society, Catholics and senior Catholic priests held a silent candle light vigil and protest at the St Mary’s Church in Ranchi on Friday against the arrest of the Jesuit priest, originally from Tamil Nadu.
Read more
16/10/2020
The Telegraph / by Jhinuk Mazumdar
Solidarity gesture organised by the Mother Teresa International Award Committee.
A march that will not differentiate between religions and political affiliations to show solidarity with Father Stan Swamy and demand his release from jail will be led by St Xavier’s University vice-chancellor Father J. Felix Raj in Calcutta on Saturday afternoon.
The protest organised by the Mother Teresa International Award Committee will start from St Xavier’s College on Park Street and end in front of the statue of Mother Teresa at the Park Street-Camac Street crossing.
Read more
15/10/2020
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
The delegation of activists submitted their demands to District Collector Rajendra Deshmukh.
Activists of various organisations held a protest at the Pune district collectorate on Thursday to demand the release of 83-year-old Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest from Jharkhand who has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case.
Read more
14/10/2020
The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee
The show of solidarity with octogenarian Jesuit priest, Father Stan Swamy, who was arrested by the NIA near Ranchi on October 8 and jailed for alleged Maoist links, continued on Tuesday in Jharkhand.
Nearly 60 representatives of people’s organisations and tribal activists resumed their hunger strike near tribal icon Birsa Munda’s memorial at Kokar in Ranchi from 11am on Tuesday, while around 50 youths under the banner of Jharkhand Christian Youth Association (JCYA) burnt the effigy of the central government at Albert Ekka Chowk as a mark of protest against the arrest.
Read more
13/10/2020
Matters India / by Matters India
Cities across India on October 12 witnessed an unprecedented show of solidarity with an octogenarian Jesuit priest who has been arrested and jailed for alleged Maoist links.
From New Delhi to the North East, from Bengaluru to Patna, and from Kochi to Mumbai, hundreds of people from all walks of life, who are saddened, shocked and indignant, stood up against the arbitrary arrest of the 83 year old Jesuit priest.
Read reports from Delhi, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Kochi, Patna and Trichy
Countercurrents / by Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisation (CDRO)
CDRO is shocked to hear the news of the arrest of Father Stan Swamy in connection with the infamous Bhima-Koregaon (BK) case. We note with disgust that Father Stan Swamy is the latest victim of the witch hunt operation carried out by the BJP-government in the name of BK case. It is a well-known fact today that the NIA, in the BK case, could not find any convincing material implicating the incarcerated activists and proving several alleged trumped-up charges including “criminal conspiracy to assassinate the Prime Minister”.
Read more
The Polis Project & maraa
Fr. Stan Swamy is an indigenous people’s rights defender. He is the founder of Vistapan Virodhi Janvikash Andolan (VVJA), an all India platform for different movements that are campaigning against human rights violations caused by the displacement of Adivasis, Dalits, and farmers from their lands.
Read more
By Jesuit Conference of South Asia
en | 1h | 2020
In response to the arrest of HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS across the country including Fr. Stan Swamy, we are unitedly organized a National Solidarity Day Today (12 October).
Watch video
Panaji, Goa: Over 200 Goans converged at the Azad Maidan on Monday evening despite the inclement weather in solidarity and to demand the release of 83-year-old Jesuit priest Fr Stan Swamy, incarcerated in the infamous Bhima Koregao case. Read more
Bangalore, Karnataka: 3 km Human Chain In Bengaluru:A lot of protestors fashioned a human chain in Bengaluru at present towards what they described as “the unlawful therapy and arrest of Father Stan Swamy from his residence in Jharkhand by the Nationwide Investigation Company (NIA), falsely implicating him within the Bhima Koregaon case.” Read more
Chennai
Ranchi: Over 60 representatives of public organisations and tribal activists staged a hunger strike near tribal icon Birsa Munda’s memorial in Ranchi on Monday to protest against the arrest of 83-year-old Jesuit priest and rights activist Father Stan Swamy while national Opposition leaders condemned the NIA’s October 8 action. Read more
Delhi
Kerala
The Wire / by pti
“It’s against the principles of Indian Constitution to arrest those who raise their voice against the butchering of democratic rights of the tribals,” he said.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday termed as “unfortunate” the arrest of tribal rights activist and Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy for his alleged involvement in inciting a mob to violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune on January 1, 2018.
Read more
Rome, Italy
