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Indian Jesuit priest Fr. Stan Swamy, who campaigned for indigenous rights, died on July 5 in detention in a hospital in Mumbai, while being treated for Covid-19.
By Vatican News reporter
The Catholic bishops of Asia have expressed their sorrow over the death of the Indian Jesuit priest, Father Stan Swamy, hailing him as the “last saint of the poor of modern India”.
Heartbreaking tragedy
“His last month of detention in a hospital bed until the last moments is the most heartbreaking tragedy of an innocent man persecuted for doing good,” said Burmese Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, president of the Federation of the Bishops of Asia (FABC), in a report.
The 84-year-old human rights activist suffering from Parkinson’s disease and other age-related issues, including hearing loss, died at Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai on Monday, on refused bail.
He was arrested on October 8 in Bagaicha, a Jesuit social action center on the outskirts of Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, for alleged links with Maoist insurgents who are believed to be behind the violence in the village of Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra state in January 2018. He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) tasked with combating terrorism and sedition under the controversial Prevention of Illegal Activities Act (UAPA). The next day he was taken to Taloja central prison.
During the nearly 9 months of detention, his repeated requests for bail were rejected. However, the charges against him have never been proven. He defended the rights of indigenous and marginalized peoples of Jharkhand through legal means, not violence. Bro. Stan denied all charges in the Bhima Koregaon case, saying it was “a place I have never been in my life”.
Following a deterioration in his health, the Bombay High Court ordered his transfer to Holy Family Hospital on May 28. He tested positive for Covid-19. The hospital staff, led by the Ursuline Sisters of Mary Immaculate, provided all the care to make Fr.’s last month comfortable.
“Last saint of the poor of modern India”
In his tribute, Cardinal Bo wrote: âHospitalization in detention restricted his movements, but upon his death his legacy is now released, inspiring thousands in all parts of India and the world. Its mission will continue and will never succumb to evil.
The President of the Catholic Bishops of Asia pointed out that Fr. Stan followed the non-violent path of Mahatma Gandhi, who was also “arrested and imprisoned under the sedition laws by British officials”. With his âgreat love for the marginalizedâ, Fr. Stan âis the last saint of the poor of modern Indiaâ. He declared that the Jesuit priest “redefined his priesthood, extending his altar to the streets and hills of those heinous corners of injustice, breaking the bread of the good news of human dignity and justice, especially among the peoples natives (tribals, Adivasis) “.
âIn his death,â said the cardinal, the Jesuit rights activist âshed a damning light on the injustice that is becoming a norm in the world: tribes and indigenous peoples are sacrificial to the interests of corporations and their communities. political catalysts, âhe said, noting that the trend is also elsewhere in Asia. The President of the Asian Bishops concluded by expressing the commitment of the Asian Church to Fr Stan’s âDream of a New World of Justice and Peaceâ.
Bro. Stan’s Ashes at Ranchi
Jesuits from India and South Asia asked Fr. Stan goodbye during a funeral mass at St. Peter’s Church, Bandra, Mumbai, an event broadcast live on YouTube due to the Covid-19 protocols.
Fr. Joe Xavier, who was in charge of Fr. Stan’s legal affairs, announced at the end of Mass that in accordance with prison, judicial and Covid standards, Fr. Stan’s body would be cremated. His ashes would be sent to the Jesuit province of Jamshedpur, to which he belonged, and to Ranchi, where he served the poor.
The UN dismayed
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has also expressed concern over the circumstances of Fr. Stan’s death. In a statement Tuesday, spokeswoman Liz Throssell said: âHigh Commissioner Michelle Bachelet and independent UN experts have repeatedly raised the cases of Father Stan and 15 other human rights defenders associated with the same events with the Indian government over the past three years. and called for their release from pre-trial detention. The UN rights chief “also raised concerns about the use of UAPA in relation to human rights defenders, a law that Father Stan was challenging in Indian courts days before his death.” .
The UN rights office stressed that “in light of the lingering and severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is even more urgent that states, including India, release anyone detained without sufficient legal basis, including those detained simply for expressing critical or dissenting opinions â.
Shortly after Fr. After Stan’s arrest last year, Bachelet’s office expressed concern about the “loosely defined laws” being “increasingly used to stifle those voices.” Bachelet urged the Indian government to “release those accused under the Prevention of Illegal Activities Act for simply exercising the basic human rights that India is required to protect.”
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