Stan Swamy – Page 23 – free them all

Crushing Dissent During India’s Lockdown

26/05/2021 Rani

Towards Freedom / by Rishabh Jain

“The very thought of him having to plead to jail authorities regarding a basic service like clean water to wash his swelled eye still gives me anxiety attacks,” says Jenny Rowena, wife of Hany Babu.
Babu, a 55-year-old Delhi University professor, is among many political prisoners who have been detained after having been charged under a draconian Indian law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
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Also read/watch: Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution. Three Day consultation by PUCL in January 2021

The pandemic has put the spotlight on inhumane conditions in Indian prisons

26/05/2021 Rani

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

The Indian Express / by Teesta Setalvad

They are overcrowded, unhygienic and have little oversight. There’s a need to expand use of house arrest as punitive measure.
The prison, it is famously said, holds a mirror to society. The conditions within prisons, to stretch this analogy, reflect the quality of any democracy. By that yardstick, India needs soul-searching. Not only has our collapsing criminal justice system ensured a mockery of reasonably speedy trials but tardy and often skewed (if not biased) investigations and prosecutions have ensured that undertrials languish in jails for decades. Courts rarely step in to ensure a thorough investigation and robust prosecutions, or a time-bound conclusion to trials.
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► Also read/ watch: Bhima Koregaon, COVID-19 And Custodial Apathy In Jails / Video + Press Release (May 15)
► Also read: Crowded Jails & COVID: 16 Bhima Koregaon Accused’s Kin Share Fears (The Quint, May 18)

The case of Fr Stan Swamy is becoming a test case for civil liberties in India

24/05/2021 Maya

The Free Press Journal / by FPJ Editorial

The case of Fr Stan Swamy, the oldest man to be accused of terrorism in India, is becoming a test case for civil liberties in India. An 84-year-old Jesuit priest with five decades of work among Jharkhand tribals is alleged to be the kingpin of a plot to take on the Modi government through an armed militia. Since he has been incarcerated, his Parkinson’s has worsened. He is literally rotting in jail but unable to get bail. There was a time when he was denied even a sipper to help him drink because tremors made it difficult for him to hold a glass.
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Stan takes a stand / Stan Swamy never let age defeat his passion for struggle, believe his aides

23/05/2021 Maya

Stan takes a stand

23/05/2021

Mattersindia.com / by Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ

It was quintessential Stan! In a manner which has come to characterize him Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy told the Bombay High Court during a hearing on May 21, “I want to go to Ranchi to be with my friends….Whatever happens to me I would like to be with my own.”
Fr Stan who turned eight-four a few weeks ago on April 26, has been lodged in the Taloja jail since his arrest on October 8, 2020. He was the last one of 16 to be arrested, in the Elgar Parishad/Bhima-Koregaon conspiracy case. That he had nothing to do with either is clear as daylight!
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Stan Swamy never let age defeat his passion for struggle, believe his aides

22/05/2021

The New Indian Express / by Mukesh Ranjan

They strongly believed that his chances of survival will increase manifold if he is released from jail and taken back to Ranchi.
Surprised over the stand taken by the 84-year old Stan Swamy and rejecting Court offer of shifting him to hospital, people close to him believes that he has placed himself along with Bhagat Singh and Khudiram Bose as he tried to give a message to the youths of Jharkhand.
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Can neither walk, write nor eat. Talojia jail has brought me to this situation: Fr Stan Swamy tells HC

21/05/2021 Rani

Can neither walk, write nor eat. Talojia jail has brought me to this situation: Fr Stan Swamy tells HC

21/05/2021

The Leaflet / by Gahena Gambani

The Bombay High Court Friday ordered the Taloja Jail authorities to follow the recommendations made by JJ hospital about the treatment and the facilities to be provided to octogenarian Father Stan Swamy, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
A vacation bench comprising Justices SJ Kathawalla and Surendra passed the order while hearing a bail application by Stan Swamy on medical grounds.
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I Would Rather Suffer, Possibly Die Very Shortly If This Were To Go On: Stan Swamy Pleads For Interim Bail In Bombay HC

21/05/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

“Only one thing that I would request the judiciary is to consider for interim bail. That is the only request”, he said.
Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old tribal rights activist, who is an undertrial in in the Bhima Koregaon- Elgar Parishad case, pleaded with the Bombay High Court to grant him interim bail to go back to his home in Ranchi.
He told a division bench led by Justice SJ Kathawalla that his health has progressively deteriorated in the eight months he has spent a Taloja Prison. Adding that being in Taloja has brought him to a situation where he can neither eat, write, bathe or go for a walk by himself.
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Bombay HC Says Committee of Doctors Required to Examine Stan Swamy / Sets up video call with Swamy on May 21

19/05/2021 Rani

Bombay HC Says Committee of Doctors Required to Examine Stan Swamy

19/05/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Taloja jail, like most other prisons in the state, lacks proper medical facilities. Over 3,500 prisoners here are handled by three Ayurvedic doctors.
A day after Father Stan Swamy was taken to Taloja Central prison from JJ hospital, the Bombay high court has directed the prison authorities to make arrangements to send him back to the hospital. The division bench of Justices S.J. Kathawalla and Surendra Tavade have also directed the dean of JJ hospital to constitute a committee of doctors including a neuro-physician, ENT, orthopaedic, general physician and any other doctor who might be required to examine Swamy.
The report has to be submitted to the court on May 21, when it is scheduled to hear the case again.
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Bombay HC sets up video call with Father Stan Swamy on May 21

19/05/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

It has also directed JJ Hospital’s Dean to constitute a committee of experts to examine the 84-year old’s health.
During the bail hearing of Bhima Koregaon case accused, Father Stan Swamy, the Bombay High Court has ordered Taloja Central jail to set up a video call with him on May 21 at 10:30 A.M.
The court said, “Taloja having video conferencing facilities, they shall arrange a meeting of the appellant with the court on 21st May at 10.30 A.M.” Father Swamy was taken to JJ Hospital yesterday but was brought back to Taloja jail around midnight.
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Activist Stan Swamy taken back to jail after visiting hospital for tests

18/05/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Swamy’s colleague said he was taken to a hospital at 4.45 pm on Tuesday and brought back to jail before midnight.
Tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, who is in custody in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, was not shifted to a hospital on Tuesday, his colleague told Scroll.in. The 83-year-old’s health had deteriorated and the Jesuits, the Catholic religious order to which he belongs, had appealed to the Maharashtra government seeking medical attention for the activist.
… “The case comes up for hearing today [Wednesday] and we are told the prosecution will submit his medical report.”
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Jailed activist Stan Swamy shifted to JJ Hospital due to poor health

18/05/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Swamy, 84, suffers from Parkinson’s disease, and his health had deteriorated further recently.
Tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, who is in custody in connection to the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, was on Tuesday moved to JJ Hospital in Mumbai from Taloja Jail, where he was lodged, a relative of one of the other people arrested in the same matter told Scroll.in.
… Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court is likely to hear Swamy’s medical bail plea on Wednesday, PTI reported.
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Father Stan Swamy finally gets first Covid shot, health continues to deteriorate in jail [read medical note]

18/05/2021 Rani

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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Shift Stan Swamy to a Hospital: Jharkhand Activists Write to Maharashtra Govt

17/05/2021 Rani

Shift Stan Swamy to a Hospital: Jharkhand Activists Write to Maharashtra Govt

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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Condition in Jail Grim: Swamy’s Friends Demand Medical Attention

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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Ranchi archdiocese seeks CM’s help in securing bail for Fr Stan

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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Should the BK16 be left to die? / Crowded Jails & COVID: BK16 Accused’s Kin Share Fears

17/05/2021 Rani

Should the Bhima Koregaon 16 be left to die?

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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Crowded Jails & COVID: 16 Bhima Koregaon Accused’s Kin Share Fears

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)

Bhima Koregaon, COVID-19 and custodial apathy in jails / Audio + Press Release

15/05/2021 Rani

Video: Press Conference demanding immediate release of BK16 prisoners

15/05/2021

By Insaf

en + hindi l 1h20min l 2021
Listen to audio here

Press Release: Covid-19 a virtual death sentence, new persecution tool against Bhima-Koregaon accused

15/05/2021

sabrang / by sabrangindia

Friends and families of undertrial prisoners narrate the worsening condition in Taloja and Byculla prisons, stressing a single fact – jail authorities must allow unconditional bail for all political prisoners!
Families and friends of the 15-accused in the Bhima Koregaon (hereafter called BK-15) case vehemently demanded the immediate release of undertrial prisoners from crowded jails, while talking about jail conditions during a press conference on May 15, 2021.
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Press Release: Bhima Koregaon, COVID-19 and custodial apathy in jails

15/05/2021

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

Press Release
On May 15th, several family members of the 15 prisoners accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgaar Parishad case addressed the press via an online press conference. Some of the arrestees have spent three years behind bars and continue to await trial. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic rages with greater intensity, several among those incarcerated have contracted the virus. Most of the arrestees are over the age of 60 and most suffer severe comorbidities. Despite the rapidly deteriorating health of the incarcerated, particularly most recently in the case of Prof. Hany Babu basic medical attention has been denied to them. Demanding that those imprisoned be released on bail in light of the looming threat of the pandemic, Prof. Babu’s wife Jenny Rowena, Adv. Surendra Gadling’s wife Minal Gadling, Fr. Stan Swamy’s friend Fr. Joseph Xavier, Mahesh Raut’s sister Monali, activist Harshali Potdar of Republican Panthers Jatiya Antachi Chalwal and friend of Sudhir Dhawale, Adv. Sudha Bharadwaj’s friend Smita Gupta addressed the press.

Harshali told us of conditions within Taloja Jail from Sudhir Dhawale who informed her that majority of the staff including cleaners and cooks inside prison have tested positive for COVID-19. The hospital inside Taloja is currently treating 60-65 people for the virus. No testing facilities are available inside jail. Instead, the jail is testing people who are fit in order to show that there are no cases. Eight persons inside Sudhir Dhawale and Vernon Gonsalves’ barrack have tested positive. Yet the prison staff have refused to test them. Sudhir Dhawale despite being over the age of 45 has been denied the vaccine as he does not have an Aadhaar card. Despite the fact that his documents have been confiscated by the police, being denied the right to be vaccinated while in the custody of the state raises the question, “whose responsibility is it now?” The letters being sent by them are reaching the family with a delay of over a month and video calls are not available. Despite the Prison Act 1894 that ensures that prisoners are entitled to basic medical facilities. However, in Taloja, there are no doctors, nurses, lab technicians, etc. but only three ayurvedic practitioners. Right to proper food and water, right to intermingle with other prisoners, communication with family members and lawyers through letters and calls, speedy trials, etc. – all of these rights are being violated.

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