By: Rita Joseph [Rita Joseph is an Indian journalist hailing from the southern state in Kerala but based in Delhi] Published in *The Tablet* Date: July 7, 2025 Source: https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/pilgrim-of-hope-fr-stan-swamy-remembered-on-anniversary/ *Note:* Please access the source to read the complete article.
"Kanimozhi ['Karunanidhi, a Member of Parliament and deputy general secretary of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party'] said Fr Stan was targeted for defending the rights of tribals to forests, water and mineral-rich lands that the government was exploiting at the behest of corporations. Under the smokescreen of development, thousands of hectares of dense, biodiverse forests were being destroyed. The elderly priest had filed a public interest litigation for the release of hundreds of tribal youths in eastern Jharkhand state who were unjustly incarcerated for asserting their rights, she said, but faced imprisonment himself based on alleged links to Maoist insurgents. Speaking of the inhuman treatment meted out to him in prison, Kanimozhi said Fr Stan – who suffered from Parkinson’s disease – was denied even a sipper to drink water though he could not hold a glass. He was called an “anti-national” and “urban Naxal” (a communist insurgent). She pledged to introduce a private member’s bill in Parliament to protect human rights defenders."
