Friends and family members of Father Stan Swamy on May 15 demanded immediate medical care for the 84-year-old Jesuit activist after he developed symptoms of COVID-19 infection.
Father Swamy’s “health condition is getting worse. He has severe cold, fever, body pain and diarrhea,” says Irudaya Swamy, the priest’s elder brother.
Irudaya Swamy further pointed out that Father Stan could not attend the call of his legal counsel on May 15. “We doubt that he is affected by COVID-19. We are worried,” the 90-year-old man from Tamil Nadu told a virtual press conference.
Jesuit Father Arockiasamy Santhanam, spokesperson for the National Lawyers Forum of Religious and Priests, told Matters India that they plan to urge the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to send a team of doctors to the prison to examine the situation and direct the government and prison authorities to attend to the health needs of prisoners such as Father Stan.
“NHRC has issued many protocols to be strictly followed in the prisons. But it seems the Taloja prison does not follow any of the Covid protocols and the prison authorities do not have any respect for the NHRC,” alleged Father Santhanam, who too had attended the virtual press conference by the relatives and friends of Father Stan and 15 others arrested with him the Bhima-Koregaon case.
The Jesuit lawyer wants the NHRC to immediately set up a high level team comprising retired Supreme Court judges, doctor and civil society leaders to make an on-the-spot study the situation of prisons in the Taloja prison, situated outside Mumbai, western India.
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