Honoring the life and legacy of Father Stan, a prominent human rights activist who died while in custody of the Indian state on July 5, 2021, and encouraging India to pursue an independent investigation into his arrest, incarceration, and death.
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Committee
Latest Action · July 5, 2024
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
This resolution honors Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and human rights activist who died in July 2021 while in custody of Indian authorities at age 84. Father Stan spent decades advocating for India's indigenous Adivasi communities, helping them fight against land expropriation and working to ensure implementation of constitutional protections and forest rights laws. He was arrested in October 2020 by India's National Investigation Agency based on charges related to protests in Maharashtra, but digital forensics experts later found that evidence on his computer had been fabricated by hackers with apparent links to Indian police. The resolution calls on India to conduct an independent investigation into his arrest, incarceration, and death, and expresses concern about the misuse of anti-terrorism and sedition laws to target human rights defenders and activists. It also emphasizes that freedom of expression and protection of human rights defenders are fundamental rights that all governments must respect.
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