Jailing Stan Swamy inexcusable: UN Special Rapporteur

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, termed the death of incarcerated 84-year-old priest-activist Stan Swamy as ‘devastating’ and said that jailing human rights defenders like him was “inexcusable”.

“The news from #India today is devastating. Human Rights Defender & (and) Jesuit priest Fr Stan Swamy has died in custody, nine months after his arrest on false charges of terrorism,” Lawlor posted on Twitter. “Jailing HRDs (Human Rights Defenders) is inexcusable.”

Read more: Fr Stan Swamy worked single-mindedly for the poor: CBCI

Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on October 8, 2020, for his alleged involvement with violence during January 2018 events to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. He continued to be in the custody of the NIA while breathing his last at a hospital in Mumbai on Monday – weeks after being tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Also read: Stan Swamy death: Activists express anguish, call for fixing accountability for 'custodial murder'

“Horrible news to learn that Indian HRD (Human Rights Defender) Fr. Stan Swamy is in very serious condition & (and) was put on a ventilator last night. He's spent 9 months in jail on unfounded charges. I’m deeply saddened & expect that every possible specialist treatment will be provided to him,” Lawlor had posted on Twitter on Sunday.

After Swamy’s death on Monday, Eamon Gilmore, the European Union’s Special Representative for Human Rights, too mourned his death. “India: I am very saddened to hear that Fr #StanSwamy has passed away. A defender of indigenous peoples’ rights. He was held in detention for the past 9 months. The EU had been raising his case repeatedly with authorities,” Gilmore posted on Twitter.