Fr Stan Swamy, an Indian Jesuit priest and activist who spent five decades fighting for Indigenous rights in the state of Jharkhand, died of Covid-19 in July 2021 after spending 7 months in an Indian prison.

He was imprisoned under the archaic Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for crimes against the government of India and his supposed involvement in violence surrounding the 2018 Bhima Koregaon protests.

In December 2022, Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting reported the results of its investigation into the evidence which had led to Fr Swamy’s arrest and imprisonment. The report concluded that Fr Swamy was systematically targeted in a cyber campaign over a four-year period during which time which falsified evidence was planted on the priest’s computer.

Fr Stan’s willingness to stand with the poor and excluded eventually cost him his life. Today, Jesuit Missions UK is asking you to stand in solidarity with Stan by signing their petition which calls on the Indian government to clear the name of this innocent man, based on the new evidence. We ask you to stand in solidarity with Stan and activists in Jharkhand where the petition has already received 10,000 signatures.

You can sign the Jesuit Missions petition here.

To find out more about the work of Jesuit Missions UK please click here.