Stan Swamy – Page 3 – free them all

‘BK 16’: Victims of Digital Invasion of the State / The Bhima Koregaon saga of injustice

30/05/2024 Asha

‘BK 16’: Victims of Digital Invasion of the State

31/05/2024

Countercurrents.org / by Mubashir VP

Hindutva fascism grew and rose to power by abusing the facilities of formal democracy, spreading hatred under the guise of freedom of speech.
The Bhima Koregaon case and the arrests and imprisonment of human rights activists under the UAPA Act, which critics point out as an example of human rights violations stretching back to the two terms of the Narendra Modi government, have drawn much attention internationally. Moreover, it became notorious as a sign of the government’s reactionary approach to democratic rights, intolerance of dissident voices, and an attempt to terrorise civic life.
Read more

The Bhima Koregaon saga of injustice

31/05/2024

Tribune India / by Julio Ribeiro

Charges yet to be framed against the accused, even though the first arrests were made in 2018
ALPA Shah, whose family hailed from Gujarat, was raised in Nairobi, where my deceased wife, Melba, was born and lived till the age of 10. The Mau Mau movement in Kenya forced many families of Indian origin to leave that country. The Menezes of Goa – to which my wife belonged – was among the few families that returned to India. They sailed back to Goa, while Alpa emigrated to England.
Read more

March 2024 | Scroll.in | by Alpa Shah
An excerpt from ‘The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon and the Search for Democracy in India’, by Alpa Shah.
Read excerpt

The Bhima Koregaon Case: A Grave Injustice and Human Rights Crisis

31/05/2024

Radian News / by Mohd Naushad Khan

The Bhima Koregaon case is a complex legal and political matter in India, stemming from the violence that occurred on January 1, 2018, during the bicentenary celebration of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra. This event holds significant historical importance, particularly for Dalits, who commemorate the British East India Company’s defeat of the Peshwa forces as a symbol of resistance against caste oppression.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Incriminating document found in Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer ‘planted’; similar tampering found in other Bhima Koregaon accused: Reports American forensic firm (The Leaflet / Dec 2022)
▪ Fabricating Evidence Against Life and Liberty: Tampering with Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer and its implications for Bhima Koregaon case (Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy / Dec 2022)
▪ Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)
▪ Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says (Washington Post / Feb 2021)

Compensate Arun Ferreira for not forwarding his letter from jail to mother on Stan Swamy: MSHRC

25/04/2024 Asha

Vernon & Arun walk out of jail. Aug 5, 2023.

Compensate Elgaar Parishad accused Arun Ferreira for not forwarding his letter from jail to mother on Stan Swamy: Human rights panel

26/04/2024

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission has asked the prison department to educate its officers on prison rules to censor inmates’ letters.
The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has directed the home department to pay a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to lawyer and Elgaar Parishad case accused Arun Ferreira for violating his fundamental rights as a prisoner by not forwarding his letter on Father Stan Swamy to his mother.
Read more

Maharashtra officials told to pay activist Rs 2 lakh for blocking letter from jail to mother

25/04/2024

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Arun Ferreira’s letter described his relationship with his co-accused in the Bhima Koregaon case Stan Swamy, who died in custody in 2021.
The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission has asked the state government and the superintendent of the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai to pay compensation of Rs 2 lakh to activist Arun Ferreira for failing to send to his mother a letter he had written to her.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Caged birds and prison songs: In chorus, Stan Swamy and the Bhima Koregaon accused kept hope alive (Scroll.in | by Vernon Gonsalves | Jul 2023)
▪ How the system broke Stan Swamy: A cell mate recalls the activist’s last days in prison (Scroll.in | by Arun Ferreira | Aug 2021)

Why the Life and Times of Fr Stan Swami Matter Even More Today

22/04/2024 Maya

Indian Catholic Matters / by Verghese V Joseph

Fr Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of the marginalised and oppressed in India. His unwavering commitment to social justice and human rights earned him the title of the country’s oldest prisoner charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his alleged role in a Maoist conspiracy. Swamy’s death on July 5, 2021, while still in custody, has sparked outrage and calls for justice from human rights organisations and individuals around the world.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Jharkhand police to probe into Maoist links with Stan Swamy’s ‘Bagaicha’, 63 other frontal organisations (The New Indian Express / Sep 2023)
▪ Can Father Stan Swamy’s PIL be the blueprint for justice to thousands of undertrials lodged under UAPA? (The Leaflet / Aug 2023)

▪ An Autobiographical Fragment, Memory and Reflection

Indian Social Institute, Bangalore | by Stan Swamy | August 2021
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here

▪ Framed to Die – The Case of Stan Swamy

By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi
Language: English
Paperback: 45 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here

Immediately withdraw pending Pathalgadi cases, including on late Stan Swamy: JJM

30/12/2023 Asha

Immediately withdraw pending pathalgadi cases, including on late Stan Swamy: JJM

02/01/2024

Countercurrents / by Representative

According to a recent RTI reply by the Superintendent of Police of Khunti, five pathalgadi cases of Khunti are yet to be withdrawn. It also includes the case registered against 20 activists and intellectuals, including Stan Swamy. Also, according to the RTI reply, another pathalgadi related case was registered in Khunti in March 2020 under the current Hemant Soren government. Of the total 21 cases registered by the Raghubar Das government in Khunti, 16 have been withdrawn.
Read more

4 Years After Announcement, Govt Yet to Withdraw Cases Pending Against Pathalgadi Movement

30/12/2023

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The pending cases name Stan Swamy along with 20 other activists and intellectuals associated with the movement. On 29 December 2019, Hemant Soren soon after taking the oath as chief minister had announced the withdrawal of all Pathalgadi cases.
Five cases registered in connection with the Pathalgadi movement in Jharkhand’s Kunti district are still pending to be withdrawn. Four years ago, in December 2019, when Jharkhand’s current chief minister Hemant Soren took over, he vowed to withdraw all cases in connection with the movement, filed under his predecessor Raghubar Das’s government.
Read more

Truth and dare in Bhima Koregaon

02/10/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Susan Abraham

The Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad ‘Maoist’ conspiracy case is a grand experiment with truth where the State is daring the people to stand up for justice.
‘TRUTH or dare’ is a mostly verbal party game requiring two or more players. Players are given the choice between answering a question truthfully, or performing a ‘dare’. The premise is simple: Players take turns asking one another ‘truth or dare?’ If they choose truth, they have to answer a question of the asker’s choosing. If they choose dare, the asker dares them to do something rather than make a confession.
Suppose the State were to subject its citizens to a macabre version of this game by cooking up a conspiracy case and locking up people behind bars. Then tell them that in order to win their freedom, they have to choose the ‘truth’ of the conspiracy or the ‘dare’ to dissent.
This is the absurd logic that plays out when you try to make sense of the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case.
Read more

Also read:
● Five years of Bhima Koregaon arrests: CDRO marks ‘black day’ (The Leaflet / Jun 2023)

Jharkhand police to probe into Maoist links with Stan Swamy’s ‘Bagaicha’, 63 other frontal organisations

23/09/2023 Asha

The New Indian Express / by Mukesh Ranjan

A delegation of these organisations met Special IG Prabhat Kumar demanding to clear their stand on the issue. They also demanded immediate rejection of any such list if it has been issued.
Jharkhand police has ordered its Special Branch to probe the Maoist links with some of the frontal organizations like Stan Swamy’s ‘Bagaicha,’ ‘Stan Swami Nyay Manch’ and several
others active in the state and submit a report.
Read more

Also read:
● Can Father Stan Swamy’s PIL be the blueprint for justice to thousands of undertrials lodged under UAPA? (The Leaflet / Aug 2023)
● Even after Stan Swamy’s death, the fight to get justice for Jharkhand undertrials is still alive (Scroll.in / Dec 2021)
● Justice for Stan Swamy! Drenched supporters carry on his legacy (SabrangIndia / Jul 2021)
● NIA Opposes Stan Swamy’s Bail; Calls PUCL, Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan ‘Maoist Fronts’ (The Wire / Jan 2021)
● A study of Undertrials in Jharkhand (Sanhati / by Bagaicha Research Team / Feb 2016)

Can Fr Stan Swamy’s PIL be the blueprint for justice to thousands of undertrials lodged under UAPA?

18/08/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

Can the judgment which granted bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira form the basis for implementation of the same principles for granting bail to other accused in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case as well as to the other 500 detenues in Jharkhand who are still at the pre- or post-trial stage?
… A public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the late Father Stan Swamy in 2017 in the Jharkhand High Court may serve as a path in the direction of ending incarceration of the disturbingly large number of those held in custody without a trial.
Read more

Also watch/read:
● Video: Vernon v. State of Maharashtra: A Breakthrough in Bail Jurisprudence under the UAPA? (PUCL India / Aug 2023)
● Even after Stan Swamy’s death, the fight to get justice for Jharkhand undertrials is still alive (Scroll.in / Dec 2021)
● In Jharkhand, Scheduled Tribes Still Battle Flimsy Criminal Cases Filed With Little Evidence (IndiaSpend / Oct 2021)
● Public interest litigation filed by Stan Swamy and Xavier Soreng in 2017 (CJP / 2017)
● A study of Undertrials in Jharkhand (Sanhati / by Bagaicha Research Team / Feb 2016)

Frivolous conspiracy cases on Jharkhand’s anti-displacement activists: FACAM

12/07/2023 Asha

Bacha Singh, Damodar Turi during protests

Counterview / by Counterview Desk / FACAM

Civil rights group Forum Against Corporatization And Militarization (FACAM), even as condemning the alleged harassment of Jharkhand activists by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has said that they are being intimidated because they have “opposed corporate loot of people’s resources.”
…
It is a malicious plot of the state machinery to suppress democratic voice against corporate loot and displacement of adivasis
Among Bhima Koregaon political prisoners, most were actively opposing the state-corporate expropriation of people’s resources, displacement and state repression. Father Stan Swamy himself played an instrumental in formation of Visthapan Virodhi Janvikas Andolan (VVJA) and was active in Pathalgadhi Movement to ensure the autonomy and sanctity of gram sabha.
Read full statement

Also read
● Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents (Jacobinmag / April 2022)
● This Organisation In Jharkhand Is Holding The State Accountable (Youthkiawaaz / April 2022)
● NIA Opposes Stan Swamy’s Bail; Calls PUCL, Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan ‘Maoist Fronts’ (The Wire / Jan 2021)

Prisoners to get hot water, bedding, phone call facilities from state govt

07/07/2023 Asha

Hindustan Times / by Vinay Dalvi

Fr Swamy, who passed away two months later at a private hospital, was provided with a mattress, bedsheet, pillow, walker, walking stick and commode only after he moved the Bombay high court for temporary bail on medical grounds.
In May 2021, 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, who had been sent to jail by the government in the Elgar Parishad case, found himself in dire straits. A Parkinsons’ sufferer, Fr Swamy was unable to drink water from a glass and had requested a straw or sipper, which was denied to him. Eventually he was compelled to approach the special NIA court, but received his straw and sipper only a month and a half after he had filed his application.
Read more

Also watch/read:
● Stop Denying Political Prisoners the Right to Healthcare in Jails (PUDR / Sep 2022)
● Punished without trial: How India’s political prisoners are being denied basic rights in jail (Scroll.in / Aug 2022)
● Hunger Strike unto death against the harassment from Taloja Central Jail’s apathetic administration (By Sagar Gorkhe / May 20, 2022)

● Video: The Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails

By All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice – AILAJ / March 2022

en | 1:21:23 | 2022
The huge number of undertrials, the overcrowding, and the disproportional numbers of Dalit, Muslim and Adivasi prisoners are part of the prison problem in India.
We are joined by Adv. Sudha Bharadwaj for a discussion on the Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails.
Watch video

Various statements to commemorate Stan Swamy’s death anniversary / Justice for the BK16!

06/07/2023 Asha

Father Stan Swamy Died As A UAPA Martyr; But Political Prisoners Continue To Suffer Without Bail

08/07/2023

Live Law / by Awstika Das

Two years ago, on July 5, Father Stan Swamy died as an undertrial prisoner in the Bhima Koregaon case after 270 days of incarceration. The 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist – arrested over alleged links to Naxals – was the country’s oldest inmate charged under the anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. “But we still sing in chorus. A caged bird can still sing,” he famously wrote in a letter from jail. But a storied life – of fighting injustice and defending human rights – came to a poor, undignified end, as Swamy battled not only with advanced Parkinson’s disease and coronavirus while awaiting trial, but also the apathy of the State that denied him basic amenities like socks, a sweater, and a blanket to stave off the cold of his jail cell, and a a straw and a sipper to drink water.
Read more

Father Stan Swamy remembered in Bengaluru on second death anniversary

07/07/2023

The indian Express / by Express News Service

Father Frazer Mascarenhas, the former principal of St Xaviers College in Mumbai, in whose care Fr Swamy was in his last days, termed the Jharkhand-based activist as a committed Jesuit and scholar and recalled his activism towards the welfare of the tribal communities.
Father Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest who died while in judicial custody in connection with Elgaar Parishad case, was remembered on his second death anniversary at an event held in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Read more

Panel discussion on civic literacy held to commemorate Father Stan Swamy’s second death anniversary

06/07/2023

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit activist from Jharkhand, died of post-Covid complications while in judicial custody in Mumbai
The second death anniversary of Father Stan Swamy, who died in custody while awaiting trial in the Elgaar Parishad-Maoist links case, was commemorated with a panel discussion on “Civic Literacy and Political Participation” at the Jawahar Bhawan auditorium in the capital on Wednesday.
Read more

‘Withdraw Bhima Koregaon case’: Activists demand after 2 yrs of Stan Swamy’s death

06/07/2023

The Siasat Daily / by News Desk

84-year-old Jharkhand-based tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy passed away while in custody for his alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Shaheed Father Stan Swamy Nyay Morcha, an umbrella organisation of various social outfits in Jharkhand, on Wednesday called for the withdrawal of the Bhima Koregaon case and the immediate release of the arrested.
Read more

Pic shared by Abhinay Lakshman / @al_lakshman

Jharkhand social activists demand action against culprits of Stan Swamy’s death in judicial custody

05/07/2023

Lagatar News / by Raj Kumar

Ranchi, July 5: Shaheed Father Stan Swamy Nyay Morcha today organized a tribute-cum- resolution meeting in front of Raj Bhawan on the occasion of second martyrdom day of the father, whom the NIA had arrested on October 8, 2020 from Ranchi for delivering a hate speech. Later, he died on July 5, 2021 while going for treatment to a Mumbai hospital in judicial custody.
Many social workers and representatives of various organizations and political parties from different districts, including Ranchi participated in it. They demanded action against the culprits of Stan’s death in judicial custody.
Read more

Activists urge Indian president to clear Stan Swamy’s name

06/07/2023

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

Tributes flow on the second death anniversary of the late Jesuit priest, who was falsely charged with terror-related laws
A group of rights activists in India have urged President Droupadi Murmu to withdraw terror-related cases against late Jesuit Father Stan Swamy and 15 other accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.
“It is a false case registered against Father Swamy and others and it should be withdrawn,” said Father Antony P.M, a social activist at a gathering to mark the second death anniversary of the priest, on July 5 in the eastern Jharkhand state. Tributes were paid to the Swamy across the country.
Read more

Bring legislation against custodial torture, activists urge TN government

05/07/2023

The New Indian Express / by By Palanivel Rajan C

“Leaders’ rhetoric against custodial tortures will do no good on the ground, where plausible changes ought to be done in the police stations where the most number of such incidents take place.”
TIRUCHY: On the second death anniversary of tribal rights activist Stan Swamy who died in jail after being arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case and after being consistently denied bail, activists and outfits in the state have called out for an Act called ‘Tamil Nadu Prevention of Custodial Torture Act’.
Read more

Also read/watch:
● Stan Swamy’s second death anniversary: Stand Up for What Is Right, demand Co-Accused (July 5, 2023)

● Remembering Father Stan and demand justice for the BK-16! (July 5, 2023/ PUCL)

en / hindi | 2:49:57 | 2023
Watch recording