United Nations/Geneva: The top UN human rights agency on Tuesday said it was “deeply saddened and disturbed” by the death of rights activist Stan Swamy during his pre-trial custody, with the top UN human rights agency calling on countries including India to have “substantial legal grounds”. without “urging the release of the detained persons”
The human rights agency further said that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and independent UN experts have repeatedly raised the cases of Swamy and 15 other human rights defenders with New Delhi over the past three years and urged them to be released from detention. Yes, PTI reported.
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Swamy, who breathed his last at a hospital in Mumbai, Maharashtra on Monday, was arrested last year under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said: “There is a need for clarity on how and why Swamy died under those circumstances.” First of all, we send our condolences to his family and his friends.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Liz Throsel said: “We are deeply saddened and disturbed by the death of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy, a human rights defender and Jesuit priest, yesterday in Mumbai under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in October 2020. arrest.
“In light of the continuing, dire impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is all the more necessary that states, including India, release every person detained without sufficient legal basis, including those for expressing critical or dissenting views only,” he said. including those detained for .
“This will be in line with the call of the Indian judiciary to decongest the prisons,” he said.
Throsell said that Swami had long been an activist, particularly on the rights of indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups.
“The High Commissioner has also raised concerns over the use of UAPA with respect to human rights defenders, a law Father Stan was challenging before Indian courts a few days before his death,” he said.
Meanwhile, UN Special Envoy on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawler said Swamy was imprisoned on “false charges of terrorism” and termed his death “disastrous”.
India on Tuesday rejected international criticism for its handling of Swamy’s case, saying the authorities concerned act against violations of the law and do not prevent the legitimate exercise of rights.
Describing India as committed to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all its citizens, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement said that the country’s democratic polity is complemented by an independent judiciary and a range of national and state level human rights. Rights Commission.
“Swamy was arrested and detained by the National Investigation Agency after due process under law,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
“Due to the specific nature of the charges against him, his bail petitions were rejected by the courts. Authorities in India work against the violation of the law and not against the legitimate exercise of rights. All such actions are strictly in accordance with the law,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The MEA said that Swamy was getting all possible medical aid at a private hospital where he was admitted since May 28.
In response to media queries, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “India is committed to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all its citizens.”
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