Indian social activist Father Stan Swamy was posthumously honored with the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders 2022 on June 2, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Jesuit Father Swamy died under trial prisoner last year in Mumbai, western India.
The award is regarded as the Nobel Prize for human rights defenders.
“Father Stan was nominated for the Award in spring 2021, but he sadly passed away before it could reach him,” said Hans Thoolen, chair of the Martin Ennals Award Jury, in an official press release.
The winner of the annual award for human rights defenders is selected by a jury comprising ten of the world’s leading human rights NGOs.
Father Swamy was a social activist who founded several organizations to promote Adivasi (tribal) rights in Jharkhand, India.
He was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on October 8, 2020, for his alleged ties to the Bhima Koregaon violence of 2018.
Swamy, who was suffering from Parkinson's disease, spent nine months in jail until May 29, 2021, when his condition became critical and he was transferred to a hospital.
He passed away at the age of 84 on July 5, 2021, a day before his bail hearing.
His bail pleas had previously been rejected several times. Swamy's death as under trial prisoner had provoked widespread outrage in India and abroad. - Teresa Rozario/RVA Bangali
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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