From: Somnath Mukherji <mukherji.somnath@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 2:23 PM
Subject: AID Calls for Justice in the Case Against Dr. Binayak Sen
To: ReachIndia@lists.aidindia.org
AID Calls for Justice in the Case Against Dr. Binayak Sen
Media Must Act to Preserve Democratic Spaces
22nd Dec, 2010
Association for India's Development (AID) is hopeful that the verdict to be delivered by the Raipur sessions court on December 24, 2010 in the trial of Dr. Binayak Sen will uphold justice. Internationally celebrated for his work on behalf of the poorest, and for his defence of human rights, Dr. Sen is being persecuted by the State of Chhattisgarh for speaking out against the violence perpetrated by the security forces and by the State-backed militia, Salwa Judum. Arrested in May 2007, Dr. Sen served two years in prison without trial, including a spell of solitary confinement, before being given bail by the Supreme Court in May 2009.
The prosecution is basing a whole litany of accusations, presented to the court in dribbles over two-and-a-half years, on a single typed letter allegedly written by Binayak Sen. This letter was not mentioned in the seizure memo prepared by the Police after the initial search of Dr. Sen's home, and is the only document not signed or corroborated by Dr. Sen or the investigating officers. There is video evidence that the material collected from Dr. Sen's house was carried away in an unsealed packet, leaving it open to tampering. The judge has refused to admit the video into evidence. We still hope that the videographer's oral testimony, confirming that the seized documents were taken away from the house in an unsealed paper bag, will be given serious consideration by the court.
The prosecution's claim that an email sent by Dr.Illina Sen to a "Fernandes" in "ISI" referred to the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI is beyond farcical. The ISI being referred to is the Indian Social Institute in Delhi. This is either gross prosecutorial incompetence, or a deliberate mockery of the court and the judicial system itself. Observers such as prominent civil rights lawyer Prashant Bhushan have also expressed concerns about "the State's attempt to intimidate dissenters." We hope that the judiciary would maintain its independence and issue a verdict that delivers justice to Dr. Sen.
We appeal in particular to the media to facilitate public debate about this case which goes to the heart of fundamental civil rights such as citizens' right to a free press and to their expressions of democratic dissent. Repressive laws such as the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), legislations under which Dr. Sen was arrested and charged, also target the freedom of the press and point to an alarming anti-democratic tendency to silence dissent. The CSPSA, for example, makes it illegal for the press to even report on activities of organizations deemed unlawful. Such laws allow the state to target anyone who dares to question state policies and behavior, including individual journalists and human rights activists. The media has a crucial role to play in the preservation of democracy and we call on the Indian media to respond to public concerns about the shrinking democratic space, as currently exemplified in the case against Dr. Sen.
Contacts: Somnath Mukherji mukherji.somnath@gmail.com 781-648-1910 Anu Mandavilli amandavilli@yahoo.com 408-480-5805
PRESS KIT
1) Timeline of Events (2007 to 2010)
2) Statement by Dr. Binayak Sen
3) Statement by Physians for Human Rights, 21 Dec, 2010
4) Communique by Amnesty International to the State of Chhattisgarh, 14 Sept, 2010
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