PHA-Exch> Binayak Sen International Day of Action Appeal

Fri May 2 19:05:46 PDT 2008

Dear friends, 

Further to earlier materials about Dr Binayak Sen, please find attached
and below a call for an appeal on the occasion of one year of Dr Sen's
imprisonment.  

Please see the guidelines in the attached document for how to follow up
with the appeal.  

Thanks for passing this on Joe Thomas.  

Best wishes

dl

_______________
	---------- Forwarded message ----------
	From: Preeti Sampat preeti.sampat at gmail.com
<mailto:preeti.sampat at gmail.com> 

	Dear Friends,

	Please find below and attached an appeal for organisations to
endorse an international day of solidarity action for Binayak Sen on May
13, marking one year of his unjust imprisonment. We are a broad
coalition of organisations and individuals based in different countries
and hope to put up a massive collective effort aimed at the embassies as
well as the press to exert pressure for his release. His trial begins on
the 30th. There is a lot being planned in India as well and as you may
know, one of the contacts for any coordination there is : Satya
Sivaraman satyasagar at gmail.com <mailto:satyasagar at gmail.com>  who also
sent out an appeal to some of us to organise international action.

	I am writing to you to request you to forward this appeal to any
international organisations or organisations based outside of India to
aid our international effort. Ilina will also be coming to the US East
Coast to receive the Mann Award on behalf of Binyak Sen and we hope to
continue the campaign then as well as work on a broader alliance against
UAPA and similar security acts. As you will see below these concerns are
addressed in our appeal as also the unjust arrest of activists and
writers like Lachit Bordoloi; Prashant Rahi; Govindan Kutty and others.

	In Solidarity,
	Preeti

	APPEAL TO OBSERVE ONE YEAR OF DR. BINAYAK SEN'S UNJUST DETENTION

	On May 13th/14th, 2008 Dr. Binayak Sen, an activist with a
lifelong commitment to the issues of community health and human rights,
will complete his first year of unjust imprisonment at the Raipur
Central jail in Chhattisgarh. Organizations across the globe will be
holding events on the evening of May 13th, 2008 to mark one year of his
imprisonment. We appeal to your organization to hold rallies,
candlelight vigils or lectures against his unconstitutional detention.
Please let us know at freebsen at gmail.com <mailto:freebsen at gmail.com>  if
your organization would endorse this appeal.

	Dr. Sen's life has been focused on providing healthcare to the
most marginalized sections of the society. By setting up the unique
Shaheed Hospital, the community-driven work of Rupantar and his broader
involvement with Jan Swasthya Abhiyan - the Indian circle of the
People's Health Movement, Dr. Sen has made healthcare available to
people who have been ignored by government or private systems.

	As the State Secretary of People's Union for Civil Liberties of
Chhattisgarh and the national Vice President, Dr. Sen has uncovered
human rights violations by the state and other armed groups. He has
highlighted starvation deaths, dysentery epidemics, poor conditions of
under trial prisoners, custodial deaths and extra judicial killings. Dr.
Sen has also worked on the issues of right to food, work, health and
education. He has been amongst the most vocal opponents of Salwa Judum,
a private militia movement armed by the Chhattisgarh Government to
combat Maoist insurgency - that has contributed to a spiraling increase
in violence and displacement of thousands of tribals. Even the Supreme
Court of India has issued a strong disapproval of the Salwa Judum,
citing concerns similar to those raised by Dr. Sen.

	On May 14th, 2007 Dr. Sen was arrested in Raipur under the
repres sive Chhattisgarsh Special Public Security Act, 2005 (CSPSA) and
the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 2004 (UAPA) on charges of
sedition, conspiracy to wage war against the state and conspiracy to
commit other offences. The continuing detention of an activist committed
to non-violence and social justice is a mockery of justice itself. He
now remains imprisoned for a year without trial or bail, including a
cruel spell of solitary confinement.

	Dr. Sen is victim to an increasing trend of arresting human
rights activists in India for challenging state authority. Lachit
Bordoloi, a human rights activist from Assam; Prashant Rahi, journalist
from Uttarakhand; Govindan Kutty, editor of People's March in Kerala;
Praful Jha, a journalist from Chhattisgarh; Vernon Gonsalves, an
activist from Nasik; Arun Ferreira, Ashok Reddy, Dhanendra Bhurule,
Naresh Bansode, activists from Vidarbha have all been charged under the
UAPA and kept under prolonged detention without bail.

	We appeal to the international community to speak out against
the stifling of pro-poor and democratic voices such as Dr. Binayak
Sen's. The international community has already shown its appreciation by
bestowing the Jonathan Mann award for public health and human rights on
him. In addition, the UAPA and the CSPSA must be repealed, and the
Chhattisgarh government should stop its support for Salwa Judum.

	Endorsed by:
	Association of India's Development  (www.aidindia.org
<http://www.aidindia.org/> ) 
	Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, MIT (
www.alliancesouthasia.org <http://www.alliancesouthasia.org/> ) 
	Friends of South Asia: FOSA (www.friendsofsouthasia.org
<http://www.friendsofsouthasia.org/> ) 
	International South Asia Forum: INSAF, NYC (www.insaf.net
<http://www.insaf.net/> ) 
	Peoples Health Movement, USA (http://www.phmovement.org/cms
<http://www.phmovement.org/cms> )
	Campaign to Stop Funding Hate ( www.stopfundinghate.org
<http://www.stopfundinghate.org/>  )

	For more information, please see:
	*	A petition to free Dr. Sen: 
http://www.petitiononline.com/Binayak/petition.html
<http://www.petitiononline.com/Binayak/petition.html>  
	*	Statement of solidarity with Dr. Sen from
internationally renowned intellectuals: 
http://monthlyreview.org/0607sen.htm
<http://monthlyreview.org/0607sen.htm>  
	*	Announcement of the Jonathan Mann Award for Dr. Sen: 
http://www.globalhealth.org/news/article/9833
<http://www.globalhealth.org/news/article/9833>  
	*	Resources on Dr. Sen and the status of the trial: 
		*	http://www.freebinayaksen.org/
<http://www.freebinayaksen.org/>  
		*	http://www.savebinayak.ukaid.org.uk/index.html
<http://www.savebinayak.ukaid.org.uk/index.html>  
	*  An article on Dr. Sen's imp risonment in the context of the
political economy of Chhattisgarh: 
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/amr140607.html
<http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/amr140607.html>  
	*  Medico Friend Circle Brochure on Dr. Binayak Sen: 

http://www.mail-archive.com/greenyouth@googlegroups.com/msg03256.html
<http://www.mail-archive.com/greenyouth@googlegroups.com/msg03256.html>

	*	An analysis of Dr. Sen's case from the PUCL website:
http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Human-rights/2007/sen-case-analysis.html 
	*	Background information on the Chhattisgarh Special
Public Security Act, 2006 
http://oldcontent.newswatch.in/news-analyses/attacks-on-scribes/3893.htm
l
<http://oldcontent.newswatch.in/news-analyses/attacks-on-scribes/3893.ht
ml>  
	*	Background information on the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, 2004 from Human Rights Features: 
http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hr features/HRF106.htm
<http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF106.htm>  
	*	Information on other activists under the UAPA, 2004: 
		*	Amnesty International on journalists Prashant
Rahi, Govindan Kutty and Praful Jha: 
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGASA200032008
<http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGASA200032008>  
		*	Frontline Defenders on Lachit Bordoloi of MASS: 
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1360
<http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1360>  
		*	Background on the arrest of Vernon Gonsalves,
Shridhar Shrinivasan and Adv KD Rao: 
http://www.lawyerscollective.org/content/< wbr>letters-0
<http://www.lawyerscollective.org/content/letters-0>  
		*	Background on Arun Ferreira 
http://in.news.yahoo.com/hindustantimes/20080411/r_t_ht_nl_general/tnl-n
axal-prisoners-protest-torture-in-n-7244580.html
<http://in.news.yahoo.com/hindustantimes/20080411/r_t_ht_nl_general/tnl-
naxal-prisoners-protest-torture-in-n-7244580.html>  

	Information about Salwa Judum: When the State Makes War on its
Own People-A report from human rights organizations in India, 2006 
http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Human-rights/2006/slawajudum.htm
<http://www.pucl.org/Topics/Human-rights/2006/slawajudum%0d%0a%20.htm> 

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