Father Stan Swamy's Death: 10 Opposition Leaders Write To President Kovind

A day after activist Stan Swamy's death in custody, senior opposition politicians, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar & Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, have written to President Ram Nath Kovind. The leaders have demanded the release of all activists jailed in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case. Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old priest-activist arrested under an anti-terror law in the Elgar Parishad case last year, died on July 5 in the middle of his fight for bail on health grounds. The Jesuit priest had been on a ventilator since July 4 when his health worsened. Apart from the three leaders, MK Stalin, Hemant Soren, HD Deve Gowda, Farooq Abdullah, Tejaswi Yadav, D Raja & Sitaram Yechury also signed the letter. The leaders alleged the activist had been jailed under "trumped up charges under the draconian UAPA" & had been denied treatment for his ailments including Parkinson's disease. The UN Human Rights body tweeted, “With COVID-19, it is even more urgent that States release every person detained without sufficient legal basis.” Watch the video to know more.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 07, 2021 10:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).