Stan Swamy - 84-year-old Activist dies fighting for Justice

Many of us don't even know who Stan Swamy is. Fr. Stan Swamy is a human rights activist and known for Tribal Rights Activism. Stan Swamy suffered from Parkinson's disease. He speaks against government policies and he has questioned the non-implementation of the fifth schedule of the Indian constitution, which talks about setting up a tribal advisory council with members of the tribal community for the well-being, development, and protection. 

His experience in Prison talks about how many poor people are being arrested without trials and they don't even know what charges have been put on them, haven't even seen their charge sheet and they just remain in jail for years without any legal procedure. 

Arrest 

In 2018, Stan Swamy was arrested under the UAPA act [Unlawful Activities Prevention Act] where bail can be denied for the Bhima Koregaon violence. He said that he had never visited Bhima Koregaon and NIA to arrest him, and added duplicate evidence in his computer. 

NIA even said that there is no conclusive evidence for his health and so the Bombay High Court made a committee to discuss his health. On 21st May, during the hearing, Stan Swamy said that before he was sent to jail, he was fine - able to walk Properly but after spending 8 months in jail his health was worse. He also says that he doesn't want to go to JJ hospital and if this goes on he will suffer more and die sooner. 

A person who had Parkinson's disease and was having hearing issues was allegedly said to have links with Maoist rebels, who are active in several states. In India, where we say 1000 criminals can be released but 1 innocent person shouldn't be punished there anti-terror laws are being used to designate an individual as a terrorist, without even providing evidence for six months and the accused can subsequently be imprisoned for seven years. Akhil Gogoi - who was arrested under UAPA was released recently and he wasn't found guilty. 

The American bar association stated that there should be neutral trials in the Bhima Koregaon case and how people are being arrested is against the Indian constitution and even international laws. 

Stan Swamy deserves Justice. Ramachandra Guha called Stan Swamy's death a case of judicial murder. In Jan, marking 100 days in Jail, he wrote "A caged bird can still sing" though he hadn't met those 15 people who were accused with him.