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Tag: Stan Swamy

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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A List of Activists, Scholars and Scribes Whose Personal Liberty Remains at Judiciary’s Mercy

A List of Activists, Scholars and Scribes Whose Personal Liberty Remains at Judiciary’s Mercy

A List of Activists, Scholars and Scribes Whose Personal Liberty Remains at Judiciary’s Mercy

13/11/2020

The Wire / by Ismat Ara and Sukanya Shantha

On September 7, following sustained interrogation at the National Investigation Agency’s office in Mumbai, two activists of the Kabir Kala Manch – Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor – were arrested for alleged connections to the 2018 Elgar Parishad case. Days later, another young cultural activist of the group, Jyoti Jagtap, was arrested too…
The Wire has put together a list of cases where activists and journalists arrested in the past years have struggled either in securing regular hearings, or in having their basic human rights protected, or both. Their situations put the Supreme Court’s assertion on “personal liberty” during Goswami’s bail hearing in harsh perspective.
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Stan Swamy vs Arnab Goswami: Are activists fighting a losing battle? Whither justice?

14/11/2020

Counterview / by Fr Sunil Macwan SJ

It is time one raised pertinent questions over the courts denying bail to Fr Stan Swamy, who was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and granting it to Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of the Republic TV, arrested under the charge of abetting suicide of Avay Naik, who ended his life in 2018. It is travesty of justice that a human rights activist is not only denied bail but is also made to wait for weeks to hear a response to his legitimate request for a straw to drink water, while Arnab Goswami walks free.
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Political Prisoners – X

Political Prisoners – X

Indian Cultural Forum / by ICF Team

A Turkish folktale, lately popular worldwide, relates that there was once—upon a time—a copse of trees that mistook an axe for a friend. “Look, it’s got a wooden handle!” cheered the trees. “The axe is one of us!” Pretty soon, those became famous last words. Variants of the plot are found in Hebrew and Kannada, Urdu and Greek, for when a folktale goes global we often discover it was global all along.
In The Leaflet (October 25), Annie Domini asks how we can “accurately recapture the evil of a State that finds solidarity to be a crime”.
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Why are inmates unable to access basic facilities in Indian prisons?

Why are inmates unable to access basic facilities in Indian prisons?


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Scroll.in / by Vijayta Lalwani

According to prison manuals, jail authorities are responsible for ensuring food, clothing and health facilities to inmates.
On November 6, activist Stan Swamy filed an application in a special court in Mumbai requesting access to use a straw and a sipper… When he was arrested in Ranchi, Jharkhand, he carried a small bag with himself that contained a few of his belongings as well as a straw and a sipper, said his lawyer Sharif Sheikh. However, after the arrest, the bag was left with the National Investigation Agency, which is probing the case.
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For one and all: On personal liberty / A Tale of Two Arrests: Arnab Goswami & Stan Swamy

For one and all: On personal liberty / A Tale of Two Arrests: Arnab Goswami & Stan Swamy

For one and all: On personal liberty

13/11/2020

The Hindu / by The Hindu

The Supreme Court has struck a blow for personal liberty, granting interim bail to television anchor Arnab Goswami through an order that one wished was also passed in the case of many others incarcerated without sufficient cause, and with the same priority, consideration and speed…
It is no idle whataboutery to point out that it was only recently that the apex court turned down a petition for bail on medical grounds for lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj to the High Court with a gratuitous observation, “You have a good case on merits. Why don’t you file a regular bail application?”
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A Tale of Two Arrests: Anchor Arnab Goswami & Activist Stan Swamy

12/11/2020

The Leaflet / by Revati Siva Kumar

The arrest of Arnab Goswami evoked howls of protests from the centre, politicians and ordinary people, while that of octogenarian activist Stan Swamy under the dreaded UAPA barely registered. This “counter-terrorism law” is a convenient weapon for governments to arrest human rights defenders, journalists and protesters and Swamy was a symbol of activism, the voice of tribals and their struggles to address their broken hopes and aspirations related to displacements and land alienation beyond caste and religion.
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Arnab entitled to bail, but what about 3.5 lakh undertials, 83 yr old priest, 80 yr old poet?

12/11/2020

Counterview / by Counterview

Senior Mumbai-based human rights lawyer Mihir Desai, in a Facebook post, “tears in the hypocrisy of the judgement and the utter naiveté that informs the discussion about it in certain quarters”, comments Vistasp Hodiwala, adding, “It is the kind of stuff that only a lawyer of serious standing such as Mihir who deals with such cases day in and day out would be able to put up.” …
This is what Mihir Desai wrote.
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‘Will Fr Stan Swamy Now Get a Sipper Cup?’ Twitter on Arnab’s Bail

11/11/2020

The Quint / by The Quint

Meanwhile, another Twitter user talked about jailed 80-year-old activist Varavara Rao’s struggles in the jail.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 11 November, granted interim bail to Republic editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami in connection with the 2018 abetment of suicide case against him.
Among other things, the top court judges, raised serious concerns about deprivation of personal liberty in Goswami’s case.
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Nikhil Wagle: Personal liberty is of utmost importance. But should it be selective? Was it not important for Kashmiri, anti-CAA or Bhima-Koregaon activists? Was it not for Rhea Chakraborty?

Rishi Majumder: To be fair, #JusticeChandrachud did take a similar line in his dissenting judgment the Bhima Koregaon case. But while his words in the #ArnabGoswami #SupremeCourt case have carried weight those in the #bhimakoregaon case served only the purpose of record.

Prashant Bhushan: It was fine for the SC to hear Goswami’s petition with lightning speed & release him. The SC struck a blow for liberty. What has anguished many people is why the SC does not display the same alacrity & concern for liberty when it deals with lesser mortals languishing in custody

People in jail
807 days – Sudha Bharadwaj
286 days – Sharjeel Imam
223 days – Meeran Haider
255 days – Ishrat Jahan & Khalid Saifi
178 days – Asif Tanha
171 days – Devangana Kalita & Natasha Narwal
58 days – Umar Khalid
30 days – Kishore Chandra Wangkhem
2 years – Aasif Sultan

…

Arnab’s plea listed urgently in SC, Dushyant Dave alleges preferential treatment [read full letter]

11/11/2020

Sabrang / by Sabrangindia

As Arnab Goswami lodged in Taloja Jail awaits the expedited hearing of his petition against denial of interim bail, the President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has, in strong words, protested against the ‘extraordinary urgent listing’ of the matter at the apex court. Mr. Dushyant Dave, the President of SCBA wrote a letter to the Secretary General of the Supreme Court pointing out the selective listing of matters that the registry is indulging in “for last eight months during Covid pandemic”.
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Was Arnab Goswami entitled to be released on bail? Of course

11/11/2020

Kractivist / by kamayani

Advocate Mihir Desai: Bail not jail is the rule.
Are the 350000 yes three lakh fifty thousand undertrials (many of them for years and many for petty offences) who are as on 11th November 2020 in jails across India likely to get bail?
More than 1,20000 of them have been jail as undertrials for more than a year. At some stage in their long prison life may be but within four days of arrest. Not in your wildest dreams.
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Campaign: Jharkhand drive against Centre’s `rights violations´

Campaign: Jharkhand drive against Centre’s `rights violations´

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

Tribal groups in state launch campaign.
At a meeting held on Sunday evening at Bihar Club in Ranchi, over 50 representatives unanimously decided that the arrest of Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, 83, by the National Investigation Agency on fabricated charges, denial of bail and delay in grant of permission to use a straw and sipper cup for drinking to a person suffering from Parkinson’s disease has exposed the Centre’s desperation against those who raise voices for tribal, minorities and Dalits. They said people at village level need to be made aware about the government’s agenda.
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We stand with Stan / Tura Churches appeal for release of arrested Priest

We stand with Stan / Tura Churches appeal for release of arrested Priest

Pic: Arrupe International Residence, Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, East Asian Pastoral Institute

We stand with Stan

10/11/2020

Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific / Arrupe International Residence, East Asian Pastoral Institute, JCAP, Jesuits in South Asia

Many of us have been inspired by Fr Stan Swamy SJ through his talks and writings as the former director of the Bangalore Indian Social Institute and an unflinching Adivasi human rights activist in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, India. His recorded remarks: “I am ready to pay the price whatever be it” inspires us to engage more avowedly in the struggle for a green and just world.
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Rally: CHALLENGES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

10/11/2020

By Indian Social Institute

On 12 Nov’20, ISI-B, Archdiocese of Bangalore, CRI, PUCL, DSS & CSOs jointly organizing a Public Rally and Protest on CHALLENGES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS. Rally starts @ 3.00 pm from Gandhi Statue to Freedom Park, Bengaluru.
For updates click here

Click to enlarge poster

Tura Churches appeal for release of arrested Jesuit Priest

09/11/2020

The Shillong Times / by Shillong Times Correspondent

Submits memo to PM Modi.
The Tura Based Christian Churches (TBCC) a combined religious body comprising of various Christian denominations of the town on Monday dashed off a memorandum to Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi appealing for the immediate release of Jesuit Priest, Fr Stan Swamy who was earlier arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
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