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Tag: Stan Swamy

NIA is acting as another ‘caged parrot’ like CB

NIA is acting as another ‘caged parrot’ like CB

National Herald / by Arun Srivastava/IPA

The NIA, constituted by an Act of Parliament, is also being used by the Modi government to serve its political interest.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which in recent times has suffered a severe crisis of credibility and faith in the eyes of the people has suffered yet another shattering blow with the Maharashtra government withdrawing general consent for operations within its territory…
The NIA can take up a case dealing with its scheduled offences in India without the consent of the state government in question.
But unfortunately, the NIA is also being used by the Modi government to serve its political interest. The Bhima Koregaon case is worth mentioning.
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Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest / Webinar report: Stand With Stan

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest / Webinar report: Stand With Stan

Call to Dalits, minorities to join protest

28/10/2020

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

Representatives of Christian and rights organisations hint at urgent need for the convergence against the current ‘fascist’ forces.
Christian organisations and human right groups have called for Dalits, tribal and minorities to join hands with other concerned citizens and protest attempts by the central government to silence voices of dissent by misusing the anti-terror law UAPA.
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Bhima Koregaon Case: A Critical Appraisal: Our Call – Free them All

27/10/2020

Countercurrents / by Dr Prakash Louis

Background to Bhima Koregaon Event
The 1818 Battle of Koregaon is of importance for Dalits. On 1st January, 1818, 800 troops of the British Army, with large number of Mahars, Dalit Community of Maharashtra predominant among them, defeated a numerically superior force of the Peshwa Baji Rao II …
On 1st January, 2018, like every year, lakhs of Dalits poured into Bhima Koregaon. The commemoration has a record of being conducted peacefully and the village’s residents have a history of social harmony. But this year, tensions had begun to build in a neighbouring village over the question of which community had conducted the last rites of Maratha ruler Sambhaji – the Mahars or the Marathas.
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Webinar report: Stand With Stan

27/10/2020

Countercurrents / by Indian Christians for Democracy

A webinar was organised with major initiative of Indian Christians for Democracy on 25th October, Sunday, 2020 from 11.00 to 1.00 pm …
The objectives of the webinar were 1) Keep pressure on for the release of all falsely accused and arrested; 2) False accusation, detention and arrest becomes a debating point and the government gives up this practice; 3) Nation-wide demand for the repeal of UAPA.
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Asian bishops stand in solidarity with arrested Jesuit [read full statement]

Asian bishops stand in solidarity with arrested Jesuit [read full statement]

UCA News / by John Zaw, Mandalay

The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) has said it stands in solidarity with Indian Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of indigenous people.
“It is with great shock and agony the FABC heard of the arrest of the 84-year-old Father Swamy and his incarceration and we are surprised at the charges brought against him,” Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, president of the FABC, said in a statement.
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Asian Bishops Call for Release of Fr. Stan Swamy

26/10/2020

ZENIT / by ZENIT Staff

The Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) has called for the release of Fr. Stan Swamy, who was arrested in his home in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand State in eastern India, on October 8th…

Following is the full letter
It is with great shock and agony, the FABC heard of the arrest of the 83-year-old Fr Stan Swamy and his incarceration. We are surprised at the charges brought against him. We stand in solidarity with Fr. Stan Swamy and all who support the rights of the indigenous people.
Read full statement


AICUF Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam unit and Parish Pastoral council St. Peter’s Cathedral, Arch Diocese of Visakhapatnam has organized a candle light rally @ 19:30hrs on Sunday 25.10.2020 at Gnanapuram for Fr. Stan.

Stan Swamy’s Crime Is His Solidarity with the Marginalised

Stan Swamy’s Crime Is His Solidarity with the Marginalised

The Leaflet / by Annie Domini

In light of the state’s attack on eminent activists who fight for the right of marginalised and oppressed, those who express solidarity must raise their voices loudly and actively writes Annie Domini.
If you look at the body politic of the country without saffron-tinted glasses, if you truly see, you will find a very very sick organism indeed. An organism that’s cannibalising on its own heart, brain and lungs to feed a massive belly of unrestrained State power.
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Arrested Indian Jesuit’s detention extended /Court Rejects Stan Swamy’s Interim Bail Plea

Arrested Indian Jesuit’s detention extended /Court Rejects Stan Swamy’s Interim Bail Plea

Arrested Indian Jesuit’s detention extended

25/10/2020

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

A special court in India’s business capital Mumbai extended the judicial custody of an octogenarian Indian Jesuit for another two more weeks on Oct. 23, rejecting his plea for an interim-bail considering his advanced age and poor health.
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Court Rejects Stan Swamy’s Interim Bail Plea in Elgar Parishad Case

23/10/2020

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Swamy had filed an interim bail application on medical grounds, given his age, pre-existing conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
A special court on Thursday rejected the interim bail plea filed by 83-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, arrested in the Elgar Parishad case.
Swamy was arrested on October 8 from Ranchi, Jharkhand by the National Investigation Agency and taken to Mumbai the day after. He had filed an interim bail application on medical grounds, given his age, pre-existing conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
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NIA court rejects Father Stan Swamy’s plea for interim bail

22/10/2020

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The special National Investigating Agency (NIA) court on Thursday rejected the interim bail plea filed by 83-year-old activist Father Stan Swamy…
His lawyer, Sharif Shaikh, had moved a plea for interim bail claiming, “The applicant is 83-years old, suffering from various ailments like hearing loss from both ears, arms injury. He has undergone two hernia operations, and still is suffering from abdomen pain. He suffers intense pain from lumbar spondylosis i.e. the tear and wear of the lumbar disc and tremors in both hands due to Parkinson’s disease.”
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Father Stan Swamy’s Jesuit Associates Condemn ‘Fabricated’ Charges Against Him

Father Stan Swamy’s Jesuit Associates Condemn ‘Fabricated’ Charges Against Him

The Wire / by Abhish K. Bose

“The NIA knows that he was voicing views against the government and corporate groups, and hence he was framed in the case.”
Kottayam: The Jesuit congregation is hopeful that the case against 83-year-old priest Father Stan Swamy, a member of the Jamshedpur province of the Society of Jesus congregation, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), will be shattered in the court, as there is no evidence to establish that he was in some way connected with the violence against Dalits at Bhima Koregaon. The imprisoned priest’s close associate, Father Joseph Xavier, alleges that Swamy hasn’t visited Pune for the last 15 years.
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+++ Tweet by Indian Social Institute: On 23 Oct’20, ISIB UTC, Archdiocese of Bengaluru, PUCL-K, CRI, NGOs and CSOs jointly organized a program on Stand in Solidarity with Fr. Stan Swamy SJ.120 people participated representing various religious congregations, NGOs, CSOs, Teachers, Students and Activists. +++

Court takes cognizance of NIA’s supplementary chargesheet; says prima-facie material exists

Court takes cognizance of NIA’s supplementary chargesheet; says prima-facie material exists


Ranchi, Oct 2020

Free Press Journal / By Staff Reporter

The seven accused Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap and Stan Swamy have been charged for criminal conspiracy among other offences under the IPC and under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The court noted that in view of the aforesaid allegations and considering the material available on record, it finds that there is prima-facie material on record against the accused persons to take cognizance of the offences. Hence, cognizance is taken.
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A citizen objects – On the arrests of men and women of conscience

A citizen objects – On the arrests of men and women of conscience

The Telegraph / by Shiv Visvanathan

My father was a brilliant metallurgist who worked for the Tatas. We lived in Jamshedpur and would go for long walks. He loved the forests around the city. I remember one evening as we walked, the Tata ‘mountains’ poured out their slag — molten and incandescent — as if the Tatas made sunsets. Then, a few minutes later, the Dalma hills lit up as the tribals burnt an area for jhum cultivation. Both were brilliant sights and my father watched entranced. He then said, almost cryptically, “Both have to survive. Justice is balance between the two.” For my father, Tata’s validity lay in the continuity of the tribe. It was a vision of a different world.
When I heard of the Jesuit Father, Stan Swamy, I sensed here was a man who understood that vision, grasped why the tribes and the tribal way of life had to survive.
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UN High Commissioner Bachelet dismayed at restrictions on NGOs and arrests of activists in India

UN High Commissioner Bachelet dismayed at restrictions on NGOs and arrests of activists in India

By United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner

News Release
GENEVA: – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday appealed to the Government of India to safeguard the rights of human rights defenders and NGOs, and their ability to carry out their crucial work on behalf of the many groups they represent…
Read full statement

Note on life and work of Fr. Stan Swamy & the case / His arrest is an insult to justice

Note on life and work of Fr. Stan Swamy & the case / His arrest is an insult to justice

Life and work of Fr. Stan Swamy and the Bhima Koregaon case

20/10/2020

Indian Cultural Forum / by Frazer Mascarenhas

Fr. Stan Swamy was arrested by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) on 8th October in Ranchi and he was sent to Taloja jail after being charged in a false and fabricated conspiracy case related to the Bhima Koregaon incident that took place on 1st January, 2018. Here is a brief note on the life and work of Fr. Stan Swamy and the Bhima Koregaon case.
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India’s arrest of an 83-year-old priest on terrorism charges is an insult to justice

18/10/2020

The Guardian / by Mari Marcel Thekaekara

Father Stan Swamy, who was helping indigenous people fight mining corporates, is far from a violent Maoist.
A frail, ailing 83-year-old Jesuit priest, Father Stan Swamy, has become the oldest person to be accused of terrorism in India. He is incarcerated in a Mumbai jail after his arrest last week.
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