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<div class="gmail_quote">From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Dr MIRA SHIVA</b> <span dir="ltr"><a href="mailto:mirashiva@gmail.com" target="_blank">mirashiva@gmail.com</a></span><br><br> It is with sadness the information about Dr Binayek Sen's<br>
Conviction is being given . The fact that the verdict is given on<br>the last day of closure of courts for winter clearly indicates prior<br>planning.<br>Had there been indication that the various national and global<br>
networks defending health and human rights would not accept<br>injustice , it is possible that the verdict would be different .<br></div>
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<div class="gmail_quote">From: Kavita Srivastava <<a href="mailto:kavisriv@gmail.com" target="_blank">kavisriv@gmail.com</a>><br>Subject: Binayak convicted - sentence still to be pronounced<br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br>By now you know about the conviction of Dr. Binayak Sen. The court has not yet pronounced the sentence. We are waiting for<br>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.</div>
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<div class="gmail_quote">This judgement is really unacceptable and unconstitutional. After all, two of the laws under which he has been convicted are themselves being<br>questioned as far as their constitutional validity is concerned. We need to know the nature of the sentence inorder to know whether we<br>
can apply for bail. The sentence has imprisonment upto life. Bail can only be applied if the sentence is up to three years.</div>
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<div class="gmail_quote">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<br>judge has given to reach this conclusion. We have to wait.</div>
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<div class="gmail_quote">Dr. Binayak Sen will appeal in the High Court at the earliest. </div>
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<div class="gmail_quote">The other two co-accused Piyush Guha and Narayan Sanyal have also been convicted. some extra sections have been applied narayan Sanyal.</div>
<div class="gmail_quote">Kavita Srivastava, Rajendra Sail, Vivek Sundar and other friends.</div>
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<div class="gmail_quote"><strong>PETITION</strong></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">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 <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/sen2010/petition.html" target="_blank">http://www.petitiononline.com/sen2010/petition.html</a> repeat <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/sen2010/petition.html">http://www.petitiononline.com/sen2010/petition.html</a></div>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br>To: The President of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi </div>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br>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. <br>
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. </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">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. </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">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. </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">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. </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">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. </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">Sincerely,</div>
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