New Delhi: Bärbel Kofler, the German Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance, has expressed concern about the continued incarceration of Adivasi rights activist and Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy and said that he should be released on humanitarian grounds.
Swamy is one of the 16 rights activists, lawyers and academic arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, currently being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Kofler said in a tweet on June 1 that Swamy is a “strong advocate of tribal rights”. “Given his age and health condition, I urgently appeal to the relevant authorities to consider his release on humanitarian grounds!” she continued.
On Thursday morning, the German Embassy to India retweeted Kofler, highlights the human rights commissioner’s appeal.
German Human Rights Commissioner @BaerbelKofler appeals for the release of Father Stan Swamy on humanitarian grounds https://t.co/sKb9vrFOU4
— German Embassy India (@GermanyinIndia) June 3, 2021
Swamy, who is suffering from advanced Parkinson’s disease, has been in jail since October last year. On May 30, two days after he was hospitalised based on the high court’s orders, Swamy tested positive for COVID-19. His move from jail to Holy Family hospital was made possible only by a long legal battle.
As The Wire has reported before, Swamy had been suffering from fever, severe cough, headache and upset stomach for the past few weeks. He was, however, finally hospitalised only following the Bombay high court direction to move him to a hospital for 15 days.
Swamy’s lawyer confirmed to The Wire on Thursday that now that he is being treated for COVID-19 and receiving hospital care, Swamy is slowly getting better.
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The octogenarian has been lodged at the Taloja central prisons since October last year, one of the most overcrowded in Maharashtra. Swamy, who had difficulty in even sipping water from a glass, was dependent on co-prisoners to go about his daily life in jail. Since his arrest, Swamy has been at the hospital ward inside Taloja.
Swamy is perhaps the oldest prisoner in India. Even while both the Supreme Court and the high court have issued several directions to decongest prisons to curb COVID-19 outbreaks there, Swamy’s case cannot be considered for release as he, like several hundred prisoners, is booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Accused under this law don’t qualify for an emergency bail or parole as recommended by the high-power committee set up to decongest prisons across different states.
An RT-PCR testing drive was conducted in Taloja jail after Swamy tested positive for COVID-19, his lawyer told The Wire. Several prisoners were found to be COVID-19 positive, including three others arrested in the Elgar Parishad case – Mahesh Raut, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor.