Fr Stan Swamy: I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many
By Fr Stan Swamy SJ
First of all, I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many during these past 100 days behind the bars. At times, news of such solidarity has given me immense strength and courage especially when the only thing certain in prison is uncertainty.
Life here is on a day-to-day basis. Another strength during these past hundred days, has been in observing the plight of the undertrials. A majority of them come from economically & socially weaker communities. Many of such poor undertrials don’t know what charges have been put on them, have not seen their charge sheet and just remain in prison for years without any legal or other assistance. Overall, almost all undertrials are compelled to live to a bare minimum, whether rich or poor. This brings in a sense of brotherhood & communitarianism where reaching out to each other is possible even in this adversity. On the other hand, we sixteen co-accused have not been able to meet each other, as we are lodged in different jails or different ‘circles’ within the same jail. But we will still sing in chorus. A caged bird can still sing.
Fr. Stan Swamy
Fr Stan’s arrest figures in UK Parliament: Govt says, Indian authorities were “alerted”
Counterview / by Rajiv Shah
Will Father Stan Swamy’s arrest, especially the fact that he is a Christian and a priest, turn out to be major international embarrassment for the Government of India? It may well happen, if a recent debate on a resolution titled “India: Persecution of Minority Groups” in the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament is any indication. While Jesuits have protested Fr Stan’s arrest in UK and US, the resolution, adopted in the Parliament, said, “This House has considered the matter of persecution of Muslims, Christians and minority groups in India”.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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`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).
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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
Video: 100 Days of the incarceration of Fr. Stan Swamy, SJ and the brutal face of the Indian State
By Stand with Stan Campaign and 100 other civil society organisations
A programme in solidarity with the 16 human rights defenders arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case
Date: Jan 15, 2021
en + hindi | 3h | Jan 2021
► Watch video @ PUCL fb page
Moderator: Apoorvanand, Teacher and Writer
Special Address: Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
Speakers: Mihir Desai, Xavier Dias, Dayamani Barla, Aloka Kujur, Virginius Xaxa, Dorothy Fernandes
Performances:
Mallika Sarabhai, “I Shall Rise” (Maya Angelou’s poem)
Santhali Dance by Shikari Pada Santhal Pargana and other cultural expressions from Jharkhand
Performance video of arrested artists from Kabir Kala Manch
More programmes: …
Video: Stand with Father Stan Swamy – A live chat hosted by Teesta Setalvad
en | 40:56min | 2021
CJP / by CJP
CJP secretary Teesta setalvad in conversation with, Human right activist and Jesuit priest, Father Cedric Prakash and, former principal of St Xavier’s College, Father Frazer Mascarenhas to discuss the arrest of octogenarian human rights defender Fr Stan Swamy.
Watch video
Arrest of Fr Stan Swamy: UN makes public letter seeking explanation from Govt of India
Counterview / by Counterview Desk
In a letter to the Government of India (GoI), three senior United Nations (UN) officials – Elina Steinerte, vice-chair of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Mary Lawlor, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and Fernand de Varennes, special rapporteur on minority issues – have said that the arrest of veteran activist Father Stan Swamy in October 2020 marks “the escalation of harassment the human rights defender has been subjected to since 2018.”
The letter, sent to GoI on November 3, 2020 but made public Mary Lawlor through a tweet on January 11, after giving two months time to send across a reply, expresses “serious concern” over the manner in which National Investigative Agency (NIA) officers have treated a senior human rights defender, suspecting, the intention appears to be to delegitimise “his peaceful human rights work.”
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Online events: The incarceration of Stan Swamy – Repeal UAPA – Release BK16 arrestees – Book Release
By twenty initiating movements/organisations
Online programmes:
• On 15 January: HUNDRED DAYS of the incarceration of Father Stan Swamy and the brutal face of the Indian State
• On 20, 21, 22 January: Repeal UAPA, the draconian legal tool to indefinitely put dissenters behind bars, using the bogey of national security and extremism.
• On 24 January: “Why does the Indian State fear Sudha Bharadwaj”. The Release of a PUCL published book on Advocate, activist, trade unionist, lawyer and mother Sudha Bharadwaj.
Dear Friends,
SALAAM!
During the last 20 months since the 2019 elections, we have all witnessed the depths to which the present ruling party can descend to crush, subvert, deny, undermine and weaken the institutions, structure and processes of rule of law and constitutional democracy. Brazenly and with impunity, the government has used the law and the police agencies to stifle and silence democratic voices of dissent through false prosecutions and persecution of rights defenders and undemocratic measures to curb the lawful activities of organisations. What is most distressing is the near-total abdication of their constitutional duties to safeguard constitutionally mandated fundamental rights and crushing of dissent by constitutional institutions, including the Supreme and High courts.
As happened in the emergency period and other times in our history as an independent nation, citizens are now standing up to say “Enough is enough” and are fighting to safeguard the Indian Constitution, rule of law and democracy. …
Farmers’ groups attempt to ‘broaden’ struggle / Jailed activists join farmers protests [full statement]
Farmers’ groups along Delhi border attempt to ‘broaden’ struggle
11/01/2021
Counterview / by Harsh Thakor
A protracted war of resistance appears to be unfolding on the border of Delhi, whee protesting farmers have intensified their struggle against the three agricultural laws. A massive tractor march was planned as a precursor to a similar rally on the Republic Day. Farmers are being mobilized under the guidance of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) and other organisations in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
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Their full statement (click to enlarge)
Several Elgaar Parishad accused on day-long hunger strike in support of protesting farmers
23/12/2020
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
Three other accused in the case, Sudha Bharadwaj, Jyoti Jagtap and Shoma Sen, are lodged separately at Byculla women’s jail.
To show solidarity with protesting farmers, some of the arrested accused in the Elgaar Parishad case who are lodged at Taloja Central Jail observed a day-long symbolic hunger strike on Wednesday.
The accused, including Mahesh Raut, Anand Teltumbde, Surendra Gadling, Hany Babu, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Rona Wilson, said in a statement issued through their lawyers that since they cannot join the farmers on the ground, they want to show solidarity with their cause through a hunger strike on December 23, which is observed as National Farmers’ Day.
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Jailed activists join farmers protests, symbolic hunger strike in solidarity
23/12/2020
Indie Journal / by Indie Journal
The activists have criticised the Central Government for bringing in the farm laws.
On farmers’ day, today, several intellectuals and activists detained in the Bhima Koregaon case will be undertaking a day-long symbolic hunger strike, in solidarity with the farmers protesting against the farm laws. The activists have criticised the Central Government for bringing in the farm laws, calling it a “sinister plot to make farmers slave of the corporate giants”.
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Also read: FARMERS’ UNION EXPLAINS WHY IT IS DEMANDING JAILED ACTIVISTS’ RELEASE (Dec 14)
Stan Swamy, has been harassed since 2018: OHCR / Endorse: International appeal
Human rights defender Stan Swamy, has been harassed since 2018: OHCR
11/01/2021
Sabrang / by Sabrang India
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Special Rapporteur on minority issues; write to Indian Govt over Fr Stan Swamy’s prolonged detention.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; the and Special Rapporteur on minority issues, have made public a letter they had written to the Indian Government expressing their concern over the “alleged arbitrary detention of human rights defender Stan Swamy”.
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Endorse: International appeal to United Nations regarding Fr. Stan Swamy, S.J
09/01/2021
By Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat – Society of Jesus
Fr. Stan Swamy, SJ is a 83 years old Indian Jesuit priest incarcerated for alleged anti-national activities. He was arrested on October 8, 2020. The antecedents of this case can be traced back to 1 January 2018 violence against the Dalits across the state of Maharashtra. One Dalit youth was killed and countless of number of Dalits injured. Even though all evidence pointed to the role of right-wing leaders in the violence that erupted after the annual celebration at Bhima Koregaon, the state thought it convenient to foist false cases against human rights defenders who are known to stand up for the poor.
Read more / read & sign appeal
India: Call to UN for release of Fr Stan Swamy
08/01/2021
Independent Catholic News / by ICN
The Jesuits of India, together with an international network of civil society organizations, have appealed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to obtain the immediate release of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy, 83, who has been imprisoned since 8 October on charges of sedition with 15 other human rights defenders in India. The appeal is a joint initiative of the Jesuits, Claretians and other congregations and organizations present at the United Nations.
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