UN RIGHTS EXPERT OUTRAGED OVER DEATH IN INDIAN JAIL OF RIGHTS ACTIVIST STAN SWAMY, AGED 84

Tue 06 July 2021:

A United Nations human rights expert has expressed her outrage over the death on Monday of the imprisoned Indian rights activist, Stan Swamy, in Mumbai city.

“The news from India today is devastating,” Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs), said in a tweet.

“Human Rights Defender and Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy has died in custody, nine months after his arrest on false charges of terrorism. Jailing HRDs is inexcusable,” Ms. Lawlor tweeted.

She also attached a link to a YouTube video in which Stan Swamy, 84, explains his work. The video was shot before teams from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) swooped down on his home in Jharkhand’s Ranchi in October last year, in a late-night operation that drew massive criticism.

Swamy, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, was moved to a private hospital in May after he tested positive for Covid, according to news reports.

Swamy, the oldest person to be accused of terrorism in India, was arrested in October 2020.

He was among 15 renowned activists, academics and lawyers, who were charged under a draconian anti-terror law.

Critics have denounced the law, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using it to mute dissent.

Swamy had repeatedly denied the charges, saying he was being targeted for his work related to the caste and land struggles of tribespeople in Jharkhand state.

The accusations were in connection with violence that broke out in 2018 during an event commemorating a historic battle fought by Dalits (untouchables) against an upper-caste rule.

Swamy’s doctors told a court hearing his bail application that he had suffered a cardiac arrest early morning on Sunday and never regained consciousness.

At the time of his arrest, Swamy’s health had been waning. But his bail appeal on medical grounds was rejected. In the eight months he spent in Mumbai’s Tajola jail, his health declined to a point where he could not even eat or bathe by himself.

The NIA continued to oppose his release, sparking anger. Several activists and rights bodies have described the investigation as a “witch hunt” to target critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The son of a farmer father and homemaker mother from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Swamy led a school for training leaders of marginalized communities in Bangalore for more than a decade.

During a career spanning more than 20 years, he fought for the rights of indigenous tribes or adivasis in Jharkhand.

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