PHM-Exch> Dr Binayak Sen convicted! India

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Dr MIRA SHIVA mirashiva at gmail.com

 It  is with sadness the   information   about Dr Binayek Sen's
Conviction is being given . The fact that the  verdict is given  on
the last day of closure of courts  for winter  clearly indicates prior
planning.
Had there been indication that the various national and global
networks defending health and human rights  would  not accept
injustice , it is  possible that the  verdict would be different .


From: Kavita Srivastava <kavisriv at gmail.com>
Subject: Binayak convicted - sentence still to be pronounced

By now you know about the conviction of Dr. Binayak Sen. The court has not
yet pronounced the sentence. We are waiting for
that. Binayak  was taken away immediately into custody. It was an emotional
moment for Dr. Sen's daughters and brother Dipanker. Ilina ofcourse is upset
but thinking ahead.

This judgement is really unacceptable and unconstitutional. After all, two
of the laws under which he has been convicted are themselves being
questioned as far as their constitutional validity is concerned. We need to
know the nature of the sentence inorder to know whether we
can apply for bail. The sentence has imprisonment upto life. Bail can only
be applied if the sentence is up to three years.

We need to really build a campaign again. there was really no evidence,
however, it is a bit too early to say what arguments the
judge has given to reach this conclusion. We have to wait.

Dr. Binayak Sen will appeal in the High Court at the earliest.

The other two co-accused Piyush Guha and Narayan Sanyal have also been
convicted. some extra sections have been applied narayan Sanyal.
Kavita Srivastava, Rajendra Sail, Vivek Sundar and other friends.


*PETITION*
Please sign and circulate the following petition created by the Free Dr.
Binayak Sen Campaign, asking for the Release of Binayak Sen, who as you
might know has been sentenced today for life imprisonment on trumped up
charges by the Raipur court.  Go to
http://www.petitiononline.com/sen2010/petition.html      repeat
http://www.petitiononline.com/sen2010/petition.html

To:  The President of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi

We, the undersigned are shocked at the conviction of well-known public
health doctor and human rights worker Dr Binayak Sen by a Raipur Sessions
Court on charges of "sedition" and "waging war against the Indian State".
The conviction carries a sentence of life imprisonment, a drastic and
completely unjust fate, to be handed out to one India's finest social
activists.
We call upon the higher Indian judiciary to uphold principles of law,
justice and the rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution and undo the
severe damage done to the reputation of the judiciary itself through the
Raipur court's flawed judgment.
The charges against Dr Sen, of allegedly aiding outlawed Maoist rebels in
Chhattisgarh, have not been corroborated by any of the witnesses or evidence
produced in court so far. On the contrary there have been numerous instances
of the prosecution resorting to use of fabricated documents and
contradictory testimonies to press its case.
We further believe that the charges against Dr Sen, made under draconian
"anti-terrorist" laws, are trumped up and intended to "punish" him for his
outspoken criticism of the Chhattisgarh government for its human rights
violations against its own tribal populations. Dr Sen, a heart patient, has
already spent over two years in prison from May 2007 to May 2009 and was
released on bail by the Indian Supreme Court.
That the world's largest democratic country cannot tolerate criticism and
non-violent human rights activism is a matter of shame to Indian citizens
everywhere and this attitude of intolerance needs to be roundly condemned.
Such low quality of justice, routinely delivered in our courts, is indeed
itself a threat to Indian democracy.
Not only should Dr Sen be released immediately from imprisonment and charges
withdrawn, there needs to be a thorough inquiry against all those who have
framed him so maliciously. We also demand adequate compensation to Dr Sen
for being deprived of his basic freedoms and his family for being subjected
to the most inhumane mental torture and persecution.
Sincerely,
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