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<h6><a href="/">HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH</a></h6>
<h1 class="headline">India: Fair Trial Doubtful for Honored Rights Advocate</h1>
<h2 class="subhead">Chhattisgarh Government Should Not Use Naxalite Issue to
Silence Critics</h2>
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<p>(New York, April 29, 2008) – Criminal charges against award-winning human
rights defender Dr. Binayak Sen raise serous concerns that he will not get a
fair trial in Raipur district court in Chhattisgarh state when hearings begin on
April 30, Human Rights Watch said today.</p>Chhattisgarh state officials charged
Sen in February 2008 with being a member of a "terrorist organization." Sen has
been in custody since May 14, 2007. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life
imprisonment. <br> <br>For over two decades, Sen has provided medical care in
remote tribal villages in Chhattisgarh. He has received numerous awards in
recognition of his work. On April 22, the Global Health Council announced that
he won the 2008 Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights.
<br> <br>"Dr. Sen appears to be a victim of the Chhattisgarh government's
attempt to silence those who criticize its policies and failure to protect human
rights in its fight against Naxalites," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human
Rights Watch. "The court should ensure that this trial is not used by the state
government to cover up its failures by punishing the messenger." <br> <br>Human
Rights Watch said that likely political motivations for the charges and other
fair trial concerns in Chhattisgarh merit the trial's change of venue to another
Indian state. The case against Sen was brought after he called on the
Chhattisgarh government to respect human rights in its campaign against Maoist
armed combatants called Naxalites. <br> <br>The presiding judge has allowed
only one of Sen's supporters to attend the hearings at a time, despite a
provision in international law that trials be public. A judge may cite public
order reasons to restrict the attendance of the press and public. However, the
district court's limit of one supporter of the defendant at the trial is
unnecessarily restrictive and raises broader concerns about the fairness of the
trial. <br> <br>"The actions of the local authorities and the presiding judge
call into serious question whether Dr. Sen will receive a fair trial," said
Adams. "To ensure fairness, the venue should be moved to another state with no
political axe to grind." <br> <br>In 2005, the Salwa Judum movement was started
with state support in Chhattisgarh to oppose the Naxalites. With state backing,
the Salwa Judum began committing serious human rights abuses, including
killings, beatings of critics, burning of villages, and forced relocation of
villagers into government camps. As a prominent leader of the human rights group
People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Sen called for an end to Salwa Judum
abuses. He also opposed the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, criticized
human rights violations such as torture, extrajudicial killings and campaigned
for improvements in prison conditions. <br> <br>Sen was first detained under
the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2006. Human Rights Watch <a href="http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/04/27/india13279.htm">has criticized
this law</a> because it could lead to serious abuses. The law allows detention
for "unlawful activities," a term so loosely defined that it can severely
restrict the peaceful activities of individuals and civil society organizations
in violation of the Indian constitution and international human rights law.
<br> <br>The state's primary evidence produced in court thus far includes
letters from an alleged Maoist leader, Narayan Sanyal, who Sen allegedly
smuggled out of prison. The police say that Sen visited Sanyal in prison a
number of times, and that documents and other materials, including his computer,
confiscated after his arrest, allegedly contain unspecified subversive
materials. Sen has denied all these charges and said that his meetings with
Sanyal were facilitated by jail authorities to provide medical care.
<br> <br>"The laws in Chhattisgarh make it easy for the government to prosecute
human rights defenders like Dr. Sen," said Adams. "The court must fairly decide
whether a real crime has been committed."
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</font><p><font face="geneva,arial" size="-1"><b><font color="red">Related Material</font></b></font></p>
<p><font face="geneva,arial" size="-1"><a href="http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/14/india18526.htm">India:
Stop Evicting Displaced People</a><br><font color="#666666" size="1">Press Release,
April 14, 2008 </font></font></p>
<p><font face="geneva,arial" size="-1"><a href="http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/04/27/india13279.htm">India:
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<p><font face="geneva,arial" size="-1"><a href="http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=asia&c=india">More information on human
rights in India</a><br><font color="#666666" size="1">Country Page </font></font></p>
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<p><font face="geneva,arial" size="-1">From: <a href="http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/29/india18681.htm">http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/29/india18681.htm</a></font></p>
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York, NY 10118-3299 USA</font></p></div></font><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>We have to start looking at the world through women's eyes' how are human rights, peace and development defined from the perspective of the lives of women? It's also important to look at the world from the perspective of the lives of diverse women, because there is not single women's view, any more than there is a single men's view." <br>
-- Charlotte Bunch <br><br>Adv Kamayani Bali Mahabal<br>South Asia Advocacy Coordinator<br>Women's Health and Rights Advocacy Partnership (WHRAP)<br>Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre For Women (ARROW)<br>Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia<br>
website: <a href="http://www.arrow.org.my">http://www.arrow.org.my</a><br>Mobile-00919820749204<br>skype:lawyercumactivist<br>icq-lawyercumactivist