Binayak Sen

A File Photo of Binayak Sen. The Supreme Court on Monday May 25, 2009, granted bail to a doctor accused by Indian authorities of links with Maoist rebels, in a high-profile case that saw a host of Nobel laureates call for his freedom. Binayak Sen, 59, was jailed about two years ago in Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh state on accusations he passed notes from an imprisoned Maoist leader. The ailing 59-year-old Dr Sen, also national vice-president of the People's Union for Civil Liberty (PUCL) was arrested on May 14, 2007, at Bilaspur under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for his alleged nexus with naxalites of the state. Chhattisgarh is one of the centres of a Maoist insurgency that stretches across a swathe of eastern and central India. Sen, who has won international fame for running health clinics for poor villagers in this tribal region, denies the charges. He has also been critical of government-backed tribal militia that were formed to battle Maoist insurgents. Lower courts had previously turned down his bail plea. But on Monday Supreme Court Justices Markandeya Katju and Deepak Verma granted bail to Sen. The prosecution did not contest his bail plea. Last year, the Global Health Council, an association of health organisations and workers, announced he was the winner of the 2008 Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights. After that 22 Nobel prize-winning scientists appealed to the Indian government to release Sen and let him travel to Washington D.C. to collect the award. The Nobel laureates spanned around three decades of winners, including economists, chemists and doctors. They said the laws under which Sen had been jailed fell short of international human rights standards. Maoist rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and landless. They regularly kill policemen and attack government establishments. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the four-decade-old Maoist rebellion as the single biggest threat to India's internal security. It has killed thousands of people. Human rights groups had launched a high-decibel campaign, including on social network websites and through emails, to demand Sen's release.
Picture : Rupesh Yadav (Raipur, Chhattisgarh).