Stan Swamy – Page 9 – free them all

PUCL welcomes the initial step towards the complete repeal of the colonial law of Sedition

12/05/2022 Asha

PUCL welcomes the initial step towards the complete repeal of the colonial law of Sedition

12/05/2022

By Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

Press release
The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties welcomes the order of the Supreme Court dated 11.05.22 in the petition filed by Army veteran Major-General SG Vombatkere (Retired) as well as PUCL and a range of other petitioners challenging the constitutional validity of Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. In its petition, the PUCL had pleaded that owing to the development of constitutional law, the law of sedition of the colonial era had no place; it was overbroad, vague, arbitrary, violating the sacrosanct freedom of speech and expression, hence it was imperative to strike it down as it was unconstitutional.
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Will SC’s Sedition Order Mean Relief for Delhi Riots, Bhima Koregaon Accused?

12/05/2022

The Quint / by Mekhala Saran

Simply put: the Supreme Court’s order in the pleas challenging the sedition law is unlikely to do so. Here’s why…
“I have every right to criticise the government. BJP-RSS do not constitute country. They do not constitute nation. They have taken a jibe against Modi, against his policies. How is this sedition?” Advocate Nihalsingh Rathod, appearing for Ramesh Gaichor and Sagar Gorkha — two of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case — had told a special court in November 2021.
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Suspending sedition: No cause for celebration

13/05/2022

Deccan Herald / by Shikha Mukerjee

There really is no cause for celebration after the conditional suspension of the infamous Section 124 A, otherwise known as the Sedition Act of 1870. The statute books have so many other equally infamous laws, starting with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act amended and strengthened in 2019, and the 2019 expansion of the National Investigation Agency Act that dumping a “colonial-era” law and claims to be respectful of human rights and liberties is a phoney gesture.
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EU human rights official says he raised communal violence, NGOs ban with Indian government

30/04/2022 Asha

The Hindu / by Shasini Haidar & Sobhana K. Nair

Official versions of the meetings have made no reference to contentious issues.
Europe’s top human rights official says he raised a number of concerns during official meetings in New Delhi with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, including funding restrictions on NGOs, recent communal violence, the situation in Jammu & Kashmir, and the condition of religious minorities.
… While the EU did not respond to a specific question about the “individual” cases mentioned, sources said Mr. Gilmore, who had earlier issued a stern statement of concern after the death of Jesuit priest Stan Swamy in custody in July 2021, had also discussed the case during his meeting.
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Bust, book honour for Father Stan Swamy on birth anniversary (video)

26/04/2022 Asha

Bust, book honour for Father Stan Swamy on birth anniversary

26/04/2024

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

The Hindi version of the memoir, written by Ranchi-based Jesuit priest James Toppo, would be released on the occasion.
The birth anniversary of Father Stan Swamy would be observed with the installation of the Jesuit priest’s bust and release of two books at Bagaicha, a training and social action centre, in Namkum, Ranchi, on April 26.
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Video: Unveiling of the Bust of Stan Swamy & Release of Three books

hindi + en | 2h 57min | 2022

By Jamshedpur Jesuits

Unveiling of the Bust of Stan Swamy & Release of Three books
– The Memoirs of Stan Swamy (Hindi Translation)
– If Not Now, When?
– Fr Stan Swamy: A Maoist or a Martyr?
Watch video

NIA Can’t Besmirch Stan Swamy’s Reputation or Place in the Hearts of People

26/04/2024

NewsClick / by John Dayal

Peaceful resistance was the cornerstone of Stan’s work, and that is why the state failed in breaking his spirit.
It may take time to get the Bombay High Court to clear Jesuit Father Stanislaus Lourduswamy’s name in the so-called Elgar Parishad case.
And it may take longer to get the Vatican machinery to launch the formal process to grant Sainthood to the 84-year-old priest, whose work among the Adivasis of central India and the poorest of the poor earned him the ire of mine-owners, state governments, and finally the central government.
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US panel on religious freedom flags India as ‘country of particular concern’ for third time

25/04/2022 Asha

‘Religious Freedom Worsened’: US Body Names India as ‘Country of Particular Concern’

26/04/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

This is the third consecutive year when United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has designated India as such.
… The latest report, in a section devoted to India, has accused the Narendra Modi government of muzzling dissenting voices, misusing UAPA and sedition laws, allowing illegal arrests of rights’ activists, carrying out violent attacks against Muslims and Christians and creating “hurdles” for NGOs to receive funds from abroad for charity work.
It has also prominently discussed the arrest and custodial death of Father Stan Swamy.
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US panel on religious freedom flags India as ‘country of particular concern’ for third time in a row

25/04/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Other countries recommended for this designation by the USCIRF in its annual report are Pakistan, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, among others.
… “The UAPA and sedition law have been invoked to create an increasing climate of intimidation and fear in an effort to silence anyone speaking out against the government,” it said.
The report specifically mentioned the treatment meted out to 84-year-old Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Read full report

Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha is holding the state accountable

23/04/2022 Asha

Youthkiawaaz / by Harsh

Established just a few months ago, Jharkhand Jan Sangharsh Morcha (JJSM) is currently acting as an umbrella for over two dozen provincial-local people’s organisations of Jharkhand to raise voices against injustice, exploitation, corruption and to resolve the public problems in the region …
“Father Stan Swamy, who was one of the founder members of Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan, lived for the Adivasi and moolnivasi communities of Jharkhand.
Taking inspiration from him, various people’s organisations have formed this front as a tribute to him to fulfil his dream of bringing all the movements of Jharkhand on one platform,” says Satyam, a social activist associated with the front.
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Also read
● Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents (Jacobinmag / April 2022)

Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents

21/04/2022 Asha

Jacobinmag / by P.M. Tony & Lotika Singha

Radical priest Stan Swamy was one of India’s leading social activists. Modi’s government is to blame for his death while awaiting trial on bogus terror charges, but the clampdown won’t snuff out the inspiring legacy of Swamy’s work with Adivasi communities.
Under the rule of Narendra Modi, the Indian state has launched a sweeping authoritarian clampdown on political dissent. One of the manifestations of this onslaught has been the jailing of opponents on trumped-up charges of terrorism and conspiracy.
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Umar Khalid statement that he was invited to Elgar Parishad among additional evidence submitted by NIA

15/04/2022 Asha

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Umar Khalid Claims He Was Invited To Elgar Parishad By Former Judge Of Bombay High Court

17/04/2022

Live Law / by Live Law News Network

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) submitted a bunch of additional documents and witness statements to the court in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case, in which student rights activist Umar Khalid claims that he heard that BJP-RSS persons had attacked visitors at the Bhima-Koregaon, near Pune.
On January 1, 2018 several Dalit’s had gathered to commemorate a 200th anniversary of the battle in which the British, with the support of Dalits, defeated the Peshwa army.
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Former Bombay High Court judge Justice BG Kolse-Patil invited me to Elgar Parishad: Umar Khalid to NIA

15/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The statement by Khalid forms part of the additional documents which the central agency submitted to the Special NIA Court in Mumbai in the Bhima Koregaon riots case of 2018 allegedly linked to the Elgar Parishad event.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has recorded statement of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student and member of Unite against Hate organisation Umar Khalid in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018 allegedly linked to the Elgar Parishad event of December 31, 2017.
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Umar Khalid statement among additional evidence submitted by NIA to court

15/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

In the evidence submitted to the court, the NIA has included the statement of Khalid, recorded in the office of the deputy superintendent of Tihar jail in New Delhi, where he is lodged in connection with the Delhi riots case.
Nearly two years since the last arrests were made in the Elgaar Parishad case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week submitted before the special court additional evidence running into seven volumes, including the statement of student activist Umar Khalid and documents related to Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest who passed away last year while in judicial custody.
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Heard of BJP-RSS attack day after being at Elgar Parishad, says Umar Khalid

15/04/2022

The Times of India / by Rebecca Samervel

Among the additional documents submitted as evidence against the accused in the Elgar Parishad case is the statement of former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, who said that a day after attending the Elgar Parishad meeting in Pune, where he delivered a speech, he came to know that BJP and RSS members attacked those who had come to visit Koregaon Bhima.
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US Departments 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

13/04/2022 Asha

US Department’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

13/04/2022

US Department of State / by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

… Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention by government authorities; political prisoners or detainees; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; restrictions on free expression and media, including violence, threats of violence, or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists …
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US government report says Indian Muslims are vulnerable to communal violence, discrimination

13/04/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The report also flagged extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests and detentions by government authorities.
… The report specifically mentioned the treatment meted out to 84-year-old Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. The case pertains to caste violence in a village near Pune in 2018. Sixteen people were arrested for allegedly plotting the violence.
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‘Blot on democracy’: Shashi Tharoor moves Bill to repeal UAPA

01/04/2022 Asha

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

In his private member’s Bill, the Congress MP described the law as a ‘tool of abuse’ as its conviction rate since 2014 has been only 2.4%.
… To buttress his arguments against the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Tharoor has mentioned in his Bill, the cases related to tribal rights activist Stan Swamy and Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, who were charged under the Act.
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Why Surendra Gadling, a political prisoner, is alleging his life is in danger

01/04/2022 Asha

Times of India / by Parth MN

Advocate and activist Surendra Gadling, an accused in the Elagar Parishad-Maoist links case, has filed a criminal complaint against top prison authorities, claiming he is facing extreme harassment. The police, however, says that’s not the case
On November 24, 2021, Surendra Gadling “felt giddy” after visiting the toilet. The human rights lawyer and Dalit activist from Nagpur immediately went into “a semi-conscious state and fell on his back“, banging his head gainst the wall.
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Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling

hindi | 11min | 2021

51- year-old Gadling, a well-known criminal lawyer in Nagpur, was once a cultural activist, who sang songs of political resistance. The 11- minutes- long rendition tells you what it means to be incarcerated in Indian prisons. From food, water, to medical care, everything is a struggle, Gadling narrates. The song was recorded by one of Gadling’s colleagues and was made available to The Wire after obtaining his consent.
Watch video