India: Jesuit priest accused of terrorism was victim of digital hacking

Stan Swamy SJ

Source: Jesuits in Britain

Fr Stan Swamy SJ (full name Stanislaus Lourduswamy) was an Indian Jesuit who spent five decades working for Indigenous rights in the state of Jharkhand, but was imprisoned after being accused of plotting against the Delhi Government. Fr Swamy died of Covid in July 2021 after spending seven months behind bars (he was already suffering from Parkinson's Disease). 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.

Today, Jesuit Missions, the international mission and development office of the Jesuits in Britain, along with the international Xavier Network, are calling on the Indian Government to clear Fr Stan's name, especially in light of new evidence which proves that he was systematically targeted during a four-year campaign, during which time falsified evidence was planted on the priest's computer. Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting have carried out a full audit of Fr Stan's computer and have concluded that files implicating the priest in terrorism were planted on his computer via the 'Netwire' remote access Trogan software. Fr Stan's computer was seized by Pune police in June 2019.

Arsenal Consulting say that the digital attacker had extensive resources to carry out their task, and that "their primary goals were surveillance and incriminating document delivery". However, despite attempting to delete their digital footprints, the attacker left evidence of their hacking which Arsenal Consulting was able to detect; the consultants also say that there is no evidence that Fr Stan ever opened or interacted with any of the malicious documents that were placed on his PC. The same malware used against Fr Stan was also used against several of his co-defendants in the Bhima Koregaon case, over the course of six years.

A petition to clear Fr Stan's name has been prompted by this revelation. So far 10,000 people across India have signed it. The initiative was started by the Bagaicha Social Centre in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India, which was founded by Fr Stan in 2000 as part of his work with the Adivasi.

By signing the petition signatories are standing in solidarity with Fr Stan and joining their voices to those of people in India and around the world to speak out for justice for Fr Stan and others who were unjustly accused and imprisoned in 2020 with Fr Stan. The petition in India will conclude on April 26, which would have been Fr Stan's 86th birthday.

Organisations which have publicised this petition will take action with their local Indian High Commissions on this day to call for justice for Fr Stan Swamy.

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The report by Arsenal Consulting on how Fr Stan's computer was compromised is here: https://docs-cdn-prod.news- engineering.aws.wapo.pub/publish_document/1a7aac27-b627-47ae-9ec4- 160f5d9174d0/published/1a7aac27-b627-47ae-9ec4-160f5d9174d0.pdf