Of 16 Arrested Accused in Elgar Parishad Case, One Dead, Two Out on Bail and Rest in Jail

19/08/2022 Asha

Of 16 Arrested Accused in Elgar Parishad Case, One Dead, Two Out on Bail and Rest in Jail

19/08/2022

The Wire / by pti

With the Supreme Court stipulating that charges in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case be framed within the next three months, the focus has shifted now to the status of the accused.
With the Supreme Court stipulating that charges in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case be framed within the next three months, the focus has shifted now to the status of the accused.
In the case that is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), of the total 16 arrested accused, Jesuit priest Stan Swamy died at a private hospital here last year during judicial custody, while Telugu poet Varavara Rao is currently out on medical bail. Only one accused – Sudha Bharadwaj – is out on regular bail.
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Also read:
● Who’s who of those arrested and the developments in the case pertaining to each (The Leaflet / June 2022)
● As Bhima Koregaon case completes its fourth anniversary, State reprisal is writ large in its twists and turns (The Leaflet / June 2022)

“Was Stan Swamy a Maoist?” By A Fellow Traveller

13/08/2022 Asha

Academicfreedomindia.com / by a Fellow Walker

In this post, a fellow traveller of Stan’s in prison shares his reflections about the Jesuit priest who became one India’s foremost human rights defenders: the background to Stan’s own awakening and then participation in the continuing resistance movements among the most marginalised of Indian citizens, its indigenous peoples, the Adivasis:

People call him Father Stan Swamy. This way of addressing is different from the Maoist usage. He opted for the Christian way of life in the Jesuit order when he was an adolescent. He migrated from Tiruchirappalli in Madras State to Jamshedpur which was, at that time, part of the undivided Bihar State. Jamshedpur is the habitat of tribal people. The people who work in the coal reserves and steel factories, and the people who live in the nearby forests are all tribals. Being idealistic from a very young age, Stan was influenced by the preaching and practice of Jesus Christ.
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Fr. Stan Swamy: his legacy lives forever!

26/07/2022 Asha

Sabrganindia / by Fr Cedric Prakash SJ

A little over a year ago, on 5 July 2021, when Father Stan Swamy left us, the world mourned the death of a great human being who epitomised compassion, courage, collaboration and commitment! ‘Stan’, as he was lovingly called by those close to him, died whilst he was still incarcerated.
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Chidambaram: ‘Process is the Punishment’ / A former SC judge on the decay in the criminal justice system

22/07/2022 Asha

P Chidambaram writes: ‘Process is the Punishment’

24/07/2022

The Indian Express / by P Chidambaram

P Chidambaram writes: Why are the accused denied bail? Pre-charge evidence, framing of charges, trial and arguments will — not may, it is will — take many years. Should the accused be in jail until the trial is over? Is pre-trial incarceration a substitute for trial, proof, conviction and punishment?
… In current times, there is no story more shocking than the story of the 16 accused in what is known as the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Liberty is too precious to be lost: A former SC judge on the decay in the criminal justice system

22/07/2022

Scroll.in / by Madan B Lokur

A starting point can be making some trial judges realise that they need to stop acting as a rubber stamp of the police in matters of arrest.
“What’s going on?” a young lady asks quizzically in a television advertisement. The same question must be asked of criminal justice and India’s prisons.
Bail, not jail has been reduced to a mere slogan to be whispered once in a while. The reality is jail, not bail. Another reality is that innocent until proven guilty has been transformed to guilty until proven innocent.
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Will Murmu Remain Help Unseen Adivasis Be Seen at Last? / Defending India’s Human Rights Defenders

21/07/2022 Asha

Will Droupadi Murmu Remain a BJP Electoral Ploy or Help Unseen Adivasis Be Seen at Last?

21/07/2022

The Wire / by Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

BJP is sure to celebrate its own decision to get an Adivasi President elected more than Murmu’s own achievements as a loyal political worker. It remains to be seen if they will let her have her own voice.
… Those who have been working for Adivasis’ causes point out that while BJP may congratulate itself in nominating Droupadi Murmu, their governments have mostly struck down or dismissed autonomous movements led by Adivasis. People like Father Stan Swamy (who passed away due to alleged medical negligence while in jail), Sudha Bharadwaj, or Surendra Gadling, all of whom have devoted their lives to improve the conditions of Adivasis, have been arrested under charges of terrorism in the Elgar Parishad case.
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Defending India’s Human Rights Defenders

21/07/2022

South Asian Voices / by Ria Chakrabarty

On July 5, 2021, Jesuit Priest and human rights defender Father Stan died in Indian custody at the age of 84. He was the oldest person to be arrested by the Indian government for terrorism. Father Stan’s incarceration led to a global outcry against the Indian government’s brutal treatment of Indian human rights defenders.
Father Stan is one of a mushrooming group of prisoners of conscience whom the Indian government has jailed over the past few years.
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Also read:
● ‘Religious Freedom Worsened’: US Body Names India as ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (The Wire / April 2022)
● 2022 ANNUAL REPORT (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) / April 2022)

Sipper and straw, to mosquito nets and phone calls: Elgar accused in court for relief

13/07/2022 Asha

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

Varavara Rao is currently on bail on medical grounds, and had challenged in the Supreme Court the High Court order rejecting his appeal.
… Incidentally, the High Court had also noted the claims made by Rao’s counsel on the lack of medical facilities at the Taloja prison and the poor hygienic conditions there, saying there was substance in the argument.
In the trial in the case, the Elgar Parishad accused have repeatedly brought up the lack of facilities in prison, and denial of access to the same.
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Remembering Fr. Stan Swamy’s life and death

12/07/2022 Asha

The Leaflet / by Shrutika Pandey and Shamim Modi

The absence of legal refuge grants the State impunity and constrains effective legal argumentation, progressive judicial pronouncements, and public mobilization.
A year ago, the nation lamented the unfortunate death of Father Stan Swamy, an activist and a Catholic priest who dedicated his entire life to defending tribal rights. Fr. Stan died in custody at the age of 83 years on alleged terrorism charges in the frivolous Bhima Koregaon case, after contracting COVID-19 and exacerbating his Parkinson’s disease while lodged in Mumbai’s Taloja prison for nine months.
With an illustrious life of fighting for the oppressed, his custodial death brought attention to the targeted persecution of anyone who, through constitutional means, poses uncomfortable questions of the State’s self-serving narrative.
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Resolution in US Congress seeks probe into Stan Swamy’s death

07/07/2022 Asha

The Tribune / by Tribune News Service

A resolution commemorating the life of Indian human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and seeking an independent investigation into the death of the Jesuit priest has been introduced in the US Congress, Congressman Juan Vargas has said.
Vargas, the Representative from the US state of California, recently introduced the resolution in Congress to commemorate Swamy “and to encourage an independent investigation” into his death.
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Remembering Stan Swamy. July 5, 2022

05/07/2022 Asha

Click to enlarge posters

Ranchi

by Justice for Father Stan Swamy, Jharkhand

No Straws, No Bail, No Justice: Remembering Stan Swamy Who Died In Custody

05/07/2022

Live Law / by Areeb Uddin Ahmed

“When each dissenter is put behind bars, a thorn each is removed from the flesh of the ruling class.” – Late Father Stan Swamy.
On July 5, 2021, a year ago, the Bombay High Court was informed that tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy was no more and he passed away while being in custody in the Bhima Koregaon case. This happened after a month when he was admitted to private hospital in Mumbai, that too after the intervention of the High Court.
He arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on October 8, 2020, for his¯ alleged links in the Bhima Koregaon- Elgar Parishad caste violence, which he vehemently denied. At the age of 83 and suffering from Parkinson’s disease, Father Stan claimed he had difficulty eating and and drinking in prison.
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India: A year on, demand for justice for Father Stan Swamy’s death in custody

05/07/2022

By Amnesty International, International Secretariat

On 5 July 2021, 84-year-old Jesuit priest and human rights defender Father Stan Swamy died in judicial custody at the Holy Family Hospital, in Mumbai, India. On the first anniversary of his death, we, the 13 undersigned international and national human rights organisations, remember Stan Swamy’s decades-long commitment to realising the rights of Dalit and indigenous peoples in India, especially in Jharkhand State. We recall our demand for an independent and effective investigation into his death in custody and for the immediate and unconditional release of the 15 other prominent human rights defenders charged in the same case.
Read full AI statement

Remembering Indian Jesuit Stan Swamy, who died a prisoner

05/07/2022

UCA News / by Cedric Prakash

He had the courage to question, to act when he did not get the right answers. He paid the price with his life.
The celebrated Greek philosopher Aristotle developed the methodology of asking a question to ultimately arrive at the truth. Jesuit Father Stan Swamy, whose first death anniversary is on 5 July 2022, was no stranger to philosophy or the scientific method.
For years, he coached generations of young women and men, in social analysis. He taught them to ask questions to understand what is happening in society. Besides, he had the courage to question; and he asked the most difficult and uncomfortable questions.
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Indian Jesuit priest’s native village eternalize his martyrdom

05/07/2022

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

Residents of Virgalur in southern Tamil Nadu declare his death anniversary on July 5 as ‘Father Stan Swamy Day’
Every July 5 will be observed as ‘Father Stan Swamy Day’ in memory of the Indian Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who died in jail on this day, declared residents of his native village in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
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Letter by 12 Members of European Parliament

by Idoia Villanueva, Member of European Parliament
The situation of human rights defenders in India is very worrying. Today is the anniversary of the death in prison of HRD Stan Swamy, for which no one has been held accountable. We call on the President of India to launch an investigation and end the harassment of HRDs.

Video: Persecution of Religious Minorities and their Defenders in India

en | 1h 14min | 2022

By Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) Channel

An event commemorating the death in custody of Father Stan Swamy
Watch video

Elgar Parishad case accused fast on Fr Stan Swamy’s first death anniversary

06/07/2022

The Times of India / by Bella Jaisinghani

… His fellow prisoners in the Elgar case, activist Sudhir Dhawale, lawyers Surendra Gadling and Arun Ferreira, activists Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor, academicians Hany Babu and Anand Teltumbde and journalist Gautam Navlakha, observed a day’s hunger strike ‘satyagraha’ in Taloja jail against the “injustice” done to Fr Stan and “lack of treatment during his illness”. The jail denied there was such a protest.
The Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS) and St Peter’s Church, Bandra, organised a tribute in the church hall.
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Bangalore

by AISA Karnataka

Civil society activists came together to remember Fr. Stan Swamy on his martyrdom day through a silent protest depicting the deteriorating democratic scenario in the country.
#RepealUAPA #ReleaseAllPoliticalPrisoners #ReleaseBK15

St. Joseph’s College of Law, Bangalore

by All India Lawyers Association For Justice (AILAJ)
In commemoration of the first death anniversary of Father Stan Swamy, AILAJ held a nationwide protest. As members of the legal fraternity, we cannot turn a blind eye or stay silent about the particularly alarming situation in the country.
Pics: Protest in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

Statement by AILAJ

London

by Jesuits in Britain

Campaigners from @JesuitMissions @JesuitsBritain have marched through London and held a prayer vigil outside the Indian High Commission to remember Father Stan Swamy, who died in Indian custody one year ago after false accusations of terrorism.

…

‘You are immortalised in our hearts’: A cellmate’s letter to Stan Swamy on his death anniversary / Protest Fast by 11 Co-Accused

05/07/2022 Asha

‘You are immortalised in our hearts’: A cellmate’s letter to Stan Swamy on his death anniversary

05/07/2022

Scroll.in / by Vernon Gonsalves

The Jesuit priest, who had been arrested in the Bhima Koregoan case, died in custody on July 5, 2021, at the age of 84.

Dear Stan,
It’s now around a year to the day they said you went away. But it doesn’t seem as if you’ve gone. Guys like you can hardly just go away. Not from me at least, not from many many more you worked with and amongst. Actually you haven’t gone, in fact you’ve come. You’ve come to the lakhs who’ve come to know you over the last year and you’ll continue coming, down the ages, to millions more. You can’t go away, you won’t go away.
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On Father Stan Swamy’s Death Anniversary, Elgar Parishad Activists Observe Protest Fast in Prison

05/07/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Activists and lawyers have accused the jail administration of inhuman treatment towards and lack of adequate medical care for the priest and other accused in the case.
On July 5, last year, 84-year-old Jharkhand-based tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy died in judicial custody in Mumbai.
Swamy was the 16th and last person to be arrested in the highly controversial Elgar Parishad case. He, like his co-accused in the case, suffered from prolonged and serious health complications while in custody. Swamy passed away after testing positive for COVID-19. His co-prisoners and lawyers have blamed the state for not allowing adequate medical help to reach him on time.
A year later, protesting against alleged state apathy and lack of accountability, 11 of his co-prisoners have decided to observe a day-long fast on the day of Swamy’s passing.
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Eleven activists accused in Elgar Parishad case observe day-long fast in Taloja prison on 1st death anniversary of Stan Swamy

05/07/2022

Midday.com / by pti

The protesting activists alleged that the death of Father Stan Swamy (83) was “brutal assassination by the prison administration, the NIA, and the government.” Swamy’s co-accused and activist Sudhir Dhawale, in a letter written to the Taloja prison superintendent and the case lawyers, claimed there has been no change in the jail condition, including general apathy among the prison administration and lack of medical facilities, which were among the several causes that led to Swamy’s death.
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Also read
● How the system broke Stan Swamy: A cell mate recalls the activist’s last days in prison (Scroll.in / Aug 2021)