84 year old Stan Swamy waiting for bail dies in hospital
Activist Stan Swamy has died in the hospital while waiting for his bail.
Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old priest-activist was arrested last year under an anti-terror law in the Elgar Parishad case. On Monday, He died in the middle of his fight for getting bail due to health ailments. The priest had been on a ventilator since Sunday.
As per court order on May 28, Stan Swamy was being treated at the private Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had suggested a government hospital, to which, he had said: "I'd rather die here in prison."
As reported by NDTV, He was jailed near Mumbai since October. He has spent the last few months of his life fighting legal battles for even the smallest of needs. In December, he was allowed to have a straw and a sipper in jail, on account of Parkinson's disease. He requested medical treatment and interim bail multiple times.
The NIA, which arrested him in October from his home, opposed his bail request in court and had said there was no "conclusive proof" of his medical ailments. Stan Swamy had told the High Court via video-conferencing that his health had consistently declined at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai and he "would die soon", if he was not granted interim bail. Last week, a fresh plea was filed for bail in the Bombay High Court, challenging the stringent conditions for bail to an accused charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). When the hearing started on Monday, his lawyer told the High Court that the activist had died at 1.30 pm.
Two days before his arrest, he had said in a video statement: "They are even asking me to go to Mumbai for further interrogation, which I am refusing to go. Because of my age, I have certain ailments. There is the epidemic which is ravaging the country... This is something that I am communicating to them and let us hope that some human sense will prevail." Messages and tributes poured in, with opposition parties and activists accusing the government of hounding the elderly activist.
UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, shared his video along with a message: "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. Jailing HRDs (Human Rights Defenders) is inexcusable." EU's Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, also tweeted.
