NEW DELHI: With the likes of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) criticising the handling of the Stan Swamy case, the Ministry of External Affairs asserted that the activist was arrested and detained following due process under law.
“Because of the specific nature of charges against him, his bail applications were rejected by the courts. Authorities in India act against violations of law and not against legitimate exercise of rights. All such actions are strictly in accordance with the law,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. “India remains committed to promotion and protection of human rights of all its citizens.”
Earlier in the day, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that it was disturbed at the death of the tribal activist. “We are saddened & disturbed by the death of 84-year-old human rights defender Father #StanSwamy, after prolonged pre-trial detention. With COVID-19, it is even more urgent that States release every person detained without sufficient legal basis,” the UN
body tweeted.
A note was also released by the spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Liz Throssel which noted that the 84-year-old activist was held in pre-trial detention without bail. High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet and the UN’s independent experts have repeatedly raised the cases of Swamy and other human rights defenders associated with the same events with India over the past three years and urged their release from pre-trial detention. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, also tweeted on Swamy’s death, terming the development devastating.
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