By Irudhaya Jothi

Kailashahar, March 18, 2022: Jesuit Father Stan Swamy’s death in custody will forever remain a stain on India’s human rights record, asserts United Nation Working Group on Human Rights.

The UN body’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted this opinion at its ninety-second session, November 15–19 2021.

The advance edited version was published in English on February 14.

Father Swamy, an Indian citizen, died July 5, 2021, while in judicial custody in Mumbai. He was 83 then.

He was the oldest of 16 people arrested for alleged terrorist activities in India. He was charged by the National Investigation Agency, the primary counter-terrorist task force of India, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, for his alleged role in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and links to the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

The Jesuit priest was a social analyst and activist for the rights of indigenous people. He had spent decades defending civil rights and the right to self-determination of the indigenous Adivasi and Dalit people, working mostly on issues of displacement.

He was arrested October 8, 2020, by the National Investigation Agency from his residence near Ranchi, capital of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

Father Swamy was also an important mentor for generations of human rights defenders in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and other parts of India.

He suffered from Parkinson’s disease that led to the simultaneous tremor of both hands. On September 11, 2019, and on two previous occasions, he had also undergone hernia surgery.

The UN Working Group noted that Father Swamy died in a hospital after contracting Covid-19 while in custody.

The group criticizes India’s stoic silence on the report of Father Swamy’s non-procedural arrest and detention and demands that the government immediately provide its follow-up action recommended in the opinion.

The Working Group urges the government to disseminate its opinion on Father Swamy through all available means.

The group had sent a communication to the Indian government concerning Father Swamy, but it has not responded so far. TRhe UN body reminds India that is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

According to the Working Group, deprivation of liberty is arbitrary when a person is kept in detention after the completion of one’s sentence or despite an amnesty law applicable to the person.

The deprivation of liberty could also occur when a government prevents a person from exercising the rights or freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A person will be deprived of his or her liberty when a government, despite being party of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international laws, fails to observe totally or partially the international norms related to the right to a fair trial.

The Working Group welcomed the opportunity to work constructively with the government to address arbitrary detention. However, it demanded information on what compensation or other reparations have been made to Father Swamy’s family.

It also wants to know if the Indian government had investigated the violation of Father Swamy’s rights and his death in custody and if so, what the outcome was.

The group also seeks information on legislative amendments or changes in practice made to harmonize the laws and practices of India with its international obligations in line with the present opinion.

The government is asked to inform the UN body its difficulties in implementing the group’s recommendations and if requires any technical assistance – such as a visit by the Working Group.