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Stan Swamy’s message and letter from Taloja prison

Stan Swamy’s message and letter from Taloja prison

By Fr. Stan Swamy SJ

“Dear friends,
Thank you so much for the solidarity support by so many, for me and my co-accused. I am really grateful.
The Prison administration provides breakfast, tea, milk, lunch and dinner. Any additional edibles are to be purchased from the prison canteen, twice a month. Also, newspapers, toiletries, stationary and other essentials can be purchased through the prison canteen.
My needs are limited. The Adivasis and the Society of Jesus have taught me to lead a simple life. bI had brought with me a “sipper-tumbler”, to drink tea and water. However, the same was disallowed at the prison gate, on entry on 9 October.
Now, I am using a baby-sipper mug, which I purchased through the prison hospital. I have communicated this need to our lawyers. I am still awaiting to receive the sipper-tumbler.
Varavara Rao is very sick. Kindly, pray for him. Listening to the life-narratives of the poor prisoners is my joy in Taloja. I see God in their pains and smiles.”
Fr. Stan Swamy SJ

Jailed Jesuit seeks prayers for seriously ill co-prisoner

20/11/2020

Matters India / by Matters India Reporter

Mumbai: Father Stan Swamy, who is in a Mumbai jail for more than one month, has sought prayers for a fellow prisoner who has become seriously ill.
“Varavara Rao is very sick. Kindly, pray for him,” the octogenarian Jesuit told confrere over phone…
Jesuit Father Arockiasamy Santhanam, secretary of the National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests, says they expected the prison authorities would give Father Swamy the sipper tumbler after P Chidambaram, a senior politician tweeted about his need. “He not received the same, at least till yesterday,” he told Matters India November 19.
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Also read: ‘Humanity is bubbling in Taloja prison,’ Stan Swamy says in letter to friends (Nov 15)

Musical Event: Here to Stay – Ideas Cannot be Arrested

Musical Event: Here to Stay – Ideas Cannot be Arrested

mid-day / by Shunashir Sen

A musical event this weekend will highlight the plight of political activists locked behind bars
Justice delayed is justice denied. That’s the maxim that some people have brought up in connection to political activists who have been imprisoned without their bail pleas being heard, some for years on end. The country’s criminal justice system is in the spotlight at a time when people are voicing their concern about the pending cases of activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Shoma Sen and hundreds of others like them who have been spending their nights in jail cells.
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Silent rally taken out seeking Stan Swamy’s release / Christians ask Indian leaders to ensure bail for Jesuit

Silent rally taken out seeking Stan Swamy’s release / Christians ask Indian leaders to ensure bail for Jesuit


Kohima, Nov 17, 2020

Silent rally taken out in Belagavi seeking Stan Swamy’s release

18/11/2020

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

Members of several Christian organisations took out a silent rally in Belagavi on Tuesday to protest against what they called the unlawful arrest of pro-people activist and Jesuit priest Stan Swamy.
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Christians ask Indian leaders to ensure bail for elderly Jesuit

18/11/2020

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

President and PM urged to seek release of Father Swamy, whose health is deteriorating in jail.
Christian leaders have appealed to the Indian president and prime minister to help end the detention of an elderly Jesuit after the priest wrote to a colleague saying that his deteriorating health has rendered him unable to eat or drink without help from jail inmates.
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NPRD seeks NHRC Intervention on Stan Swamy

NPRD seeks NHRC Intervention on Stan Swamy

By National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD)

Press Release
Nov 17, 2020
The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) has petitioned the National Human Rights Commission seeking its intervention to provide reasonable accommodations to Fr. Stan Swamy, who is lodged in the Taloja Jail, Maharashtra.
83-year old Stan Swamy is a person living with Parkinson’s, which is a condition recognised as disabling as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. As per various laws and conventions to which India is a signatory, it is obligatory that Stan Swamy be provided with requisite age & disability appropriate accommodations, assistive aids including straws and sippers as also human care assistance as required.
The full text of the letter addressed to the NHRC Chairman yesterday is being released herewith.

(Muralidharan)
General Secretary, NPRD
…

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The NIA and Father Stan Swamy: Hunting down a Samaritan

The NIA and Father Stan Swamy: Hunting down a Samaritan

Frontline / by Anupama Katakam

The NIA arrests Father Stan Swamy for alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon incident, but the actual reason for the state’s witch-hunt is his strident opposition to corporate exploitation of tribal areas.
In a more tolerant time, Father Stan Swamy would have been commended for the work he does. A nation that should be proud of his contribution has instead arrested the 83-year-old Jesuit priest on false charges so that an agenda can be fulfilled. Father Swamy has spent 60 years living and working with the most marginalised tribal communities in the Bihar and Jharkhand belt. A social worker, activist and educator, his story is what legends are made of.
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India’s Era Of Unequal Liberties / Protect our Republic, my lords

India’s Era Of Unequal Liberties / Protect our Republic, my lords

Arnab Goswami & India’s Era Of Unequal Liberties

16/11/2020

Article 14 / by Zaid Wahidi

On 11 November 2020, the Supreme Court granted bail to television show-host Arnab Goswami, who had been in judicial custody for seven days on an abetment to suicide charge related to a 2018 case. The merits aside, the manner in which the judicial machinery functioned to protect Goswami’s liberty was extraordinary… However, when the Supreme Court’s own approach to cases concerning personal liberty is tested on the touchstone of these observations, the reality could not be more of a contrast…
Sudha Bharadwaj: Imprisoned For 811 Days
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Protect our Republic, my lords

16/11/2020

The Hindu / by Sriram Panchu

The judiciary’s quick intervention in the Arnab Goswami case turns the spotlight on other serious cases that languish.
The facts are brief. Mr. Arnab Goswami of Republic TV, a media group perceived to be supportive of the ruling party, was arrested by the Mumbai Police on November 4, 2020 on a charge of abetting the suicide of Anvay Naik … The High Court heard his case for five hours on a holiday, and said exactly this on November 9…
There is however the disturbing contrast between the breakneck speed of the Supreme Court in this case with other cases which involve large scale and serious violations of fundamental freedoms.
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Five cases on personal liberty decided by Justice DY Chandrachud

15/11/2020

Bar & Bench / by Murali Krishnan

Supreme Court Bench headed by JusticeDY Chandrachud, on November 11 granted bail to Republic TV Editor-in-Chief, Arnab Goswami in an abetment to suicide case against him…
Below are a few cases in which Justice Chandrachud was confronted with issue of personal liberty/ bail.
Bhima -Koregaon arrests
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Jharkhand MP writes to President demanding Fr. Stan Swamy’s release

Jharkhand MP writes to President demanding Fr. Stan Swamy’s release

Jharkhand MP writes to President demanding Fr. Stan Swamy’s release

16/11/2020

Sabrang / by Sabrangindia

Alleging that the NIA was using under-handed methods to imprison innocent activists, MP Vijay Hansdak demanded the release and closure of the case against Fr. Stan.
“Father Stan Swamy’s arrest by the NIA [National Investigation Agency] is malicious and spiteful as he and his associates have been constantly denying any link with Maoists. The allegation against him about his links in the Bhima Koregaon case is also false and fabricated. I, on behalf of people of Jharkhand, would like to appeal to take immediate concrete action to stop the proceedings of all the false allegations against Father Swamy and release him. I also appeal to release all those innocent social activists and intellectuals who have been arrested on false allegations,” Hansdak wrote in his letter.
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Jharkhand MP letter to Kovind for Stan Swamy release

15/11/2020

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

Rajmahal MP and JMM leader Vijay Kumar Hansdak has become the first parliamentarian from Jharkhand to come out in support of octogenarian Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, who has been arrested and jailed for his alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence and Maoist links.
In a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind on November 10, Hansdak, son of former Congress MP Thomas Hansdah, has sought the immediate release of the elderly priest and closure of the “false” case lodged against Fr Swamy.
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What About Personal Liberty Of Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, VV Rao & Stan Swamy?

What About Personal Liberty Of Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, VV Rao & Stan Swamy?

SC Protects Arnab’s Personal Liberty, Why Not Sudha Bharadwaj’s?

15/11/2020

Kashimir Pen / by Web Desk

Leading human rights and constitutional lawyer Karuna Nundy applauded the Supreme Court for acting out its self-professed role as ‘sentinel on the qui vive’ and protecting personal liberty when ordering Arnab Goswami’s release on interim bail – but had some tough questions about the consistency of the court’s approach.
She noted that even though the Republic editor-in-chief had not only damaged people’s reputations by calling them terrorists and anti-nationals, and actually influenced the taking of state action against them – from Umar Khalid to the Bhima Koregaon accused – it was still a good thing that his case was heard on a priority basis by the apex court.
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Video: SC Protects Arnab’s Personal Liberty, But What About Sudha Bharadwaj’s?

13/11/2020


en | 7:32min | 2020

The Quint / by The Quint

Supreme Court advocate Karuna Nundy explains why there are concerns over the consistency with which the apex court will apply its order granting Arnab Goswami interim bail, with Sudha Bharadwaj’s case a prime example.
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Video: What About Liberty Of Anand Teltumbde, Varavara Rao, Stan Swamy, Asks Kapil Sibal

12/11/2020


en | 11:23min | 2020

NDTV / by NDTV

The Supreme Court’s order on Wednesday in the Arnab Goswami case has major implications beyond just this one instance. Justice Chandrachud observed, “Forget Arnab Goswami for a moment, we are a Constitutional court…. If we as a Constitutional Court do not lay down law and protect liberty, then who will?” He went on to add, “If we don’t interfere in this case today, we will walk on path of destruction. You may differ in ideology but Constitutional courts will have to protect such freedoms…” The remarks come at a time when thousands languish in jails in want of bail. These include the old and the infirm, like 81-year-old Varavara Rao accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case and Father Stan Swamy who suffers from Parkinson’s.
After the Supreme Court’s observations that ‘constitutional courts have to protect freedoms’, will this set a precedent in other pending cases as well? We speak to senior advocate and Congress MP Kapil Sibal who was in Supreme Court in connection with this case.
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‘Humanity is bubbling in Taloja prison,’ Stan Swamy says in letter to friends

‘Humanity is bubbling in Taloja prison,’ Stan Swamy says in letter to friends

Pic: Bangalore, Nov 12

Excerpts from a letter written by Fr. Stan Swamy SJ, from the prison, with the help of Arun Ferreira

By Fr Stan Swamy

Dear friends
Peace!
Though I do not have many details, from what I have heard, I am grateful to all of you for expressing your solidarity support.
I am in a cell approximately 13 feet x 8 feet, along with two more inmates. It has a small bathroom and a toilet with Indian commode. Fortunately, I am given a western commode chair.
Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira are in another cell. During the day, when cells and barracks are opened, we meet with each other.
From 5.30 pm to 06.00 am and 12 noon to 03.00 pm, I am locked up in my cell, with two inmates. Arun assists me to have my breakfast and lunch. Vernon helps me with bath. My two inmates help out during supper, in washing my clothes and give massage to my knee joints. They are from very poor families.
Please remember my inmates and my colleagues in your prayers.
Despite all odds, humanity is bubbling in Taloja prison.

Jesuit priest’s letter from Taloja Central Jail

15/11/2020

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

Excerpts from the letter by the Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist from Ranchi, whose full name is Stanislaus Lourduswamy, have been widely circulated on Facebook this Diwali…
Jesuit priest Father David Solomon, director of the Ranchi NGO Bagaicha — a workspace for activists where Swamy lived and worked — confirmed the authenticity of the excerpt.
He said the rest of the letter’s contents were not being disclosed as they included personal information. Nor has the identity of the recipient been revealed for fear of harassment of priests and institutions run by them.
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‘Humanity is bubbling in Taloja prison,’ Stan Swamy says in letter to friends

14/11/2020

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The 83-year-old suffers from Parkinson’s disease and needs help with chores.
Jailed human rights activist Stan Swamy wrote to his friends about fellow inmates who help him with his chores and said that despite all odds, “humanity is bubbling in prison”. Excerpts from the letter were shared on social media by Swamy’s friend, human rights activist John Dayal.
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