Fr Stan Swamy SJ Indian Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy marked 100 days in prison with a letter highlighting the cases of poor people languishing in jail who begin their trials without even knowing their criminal charges.
Ucanews.com reported on January 25 that in his letter to Jesuit colleagues, the 84-year-old priest also expressed gratitude for the “overwhelming” solidarity of his supporters as he completed 100 days in prison.
Fr Swamy has been detained in Taloja Central Prison in Mumbai since October 9. The human rights activist priest is charged with sedition and having links with outlawed Maoist rebels.
Along with Fr Swamy, 15 other activists were arrested and jailed at different times for their alleged involvement in a violent incident in Bhima Koregaon January 1, 2018. One person died and five were injured in the incident.
“First of all, I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many during these past 100 days behind bars,” the priest’s letter said.
Fr Swamy’s letter referred to the “undertrials” – a term used in India to denote people in custody waiting for their trials to begin.
“Many such poor undertrials don’t know what charges have been put on them, have not seen their charge sheet and just remain in prison for years without any legal or other assistance,” he wrote.