Front Line would like to express its grave concern in relation to updated information received concerning the medical needs of detained human rights defender Dr Binayak Sen. Dr Binayak Sen is the General Secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) regional office in the state of Chhattisgarh, as well as the Vice-President of the PUCL at a national level.

Further Information

The PUCL is a non-governmental, non-political organisation founded in 1976 and dedicated to the defence of civil liberties and human rights. In recent decades, Dr Binayak Sen has been very involved in training people living in rural villages with regard to community health and disease prevention. In 2004, he was awarded the Paul Harrison Award by the Christian Medical College in Vellore. Dr Binayak Sen has also campaigned to raise awareness with regard to human rights violations allegedly committed by state-sponsored Salwa Judum militias.

Dr Binayak Sen has been detained since 14 May 2007. Front Line has received reports that Dr Binayak Sen is in urgent need of medical attention for coronary artery disease. On 25 March 2009, Dr Ashish Malhotra recommended that Dr Binayak Sen be referred to the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore for an angiography and further assessment and, if required, coronary artery bypass surgery. Despite a court order, delivered on 20 February 2009 by the 11th Additional District and Sessions Judge in Raipur, B.S. Saluja, that Dr Binayak Sen receive treatment as per the doctor's recommendations, the prison administration chose to bring him to a different hospital, in Raipur. Dr Binayak Sen is concerned that the prison authorities may be putting his life in danger by delaying his access to the recommended medical facilities.

The controversial 'Black Laws', under which Dr Binayak Sen has been charged, consist of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act of 2005 (CSPSA) and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, amended in 2004. These laws were tightened in 2004 and 2005 respectively, following the disintegration of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in 2004.

They allow no provision for the granting of bail to detainees or the right to appeal. Dr Binayak Sen has been charged with aiding and abetting Naxal activity, and accused of having transmitted letters written by Maoist leaders of the Communist Party of India - CPI (Maoist) to a detainee, Piyush Guha, in Chhattisgarh prison. Dr Binayak Sen met with inmates of Raipur Central Prison with the expressed permission of the Police Superintendent, under the supervision of the prison warden. Piyush Guha, a suspected CPI (Maoist) guerrilla leader, was arrested on 1 May 2007 on charges of attempting to smuggle letters and Maoist literature to a Maoist leader.

Front Line is concerned that Dr Binayak Sen is not receiving the medical attention that he requires and has been recommended by Dr Ashish Malhotra. Furthermore, Front Line continues to express concern that the arrest and subsequent detention of Dr Binayak Sen may be politically motivated and that he has been targeted as a result of his peaceful and legitimate work in the defence of human rights. As a member of the PUCL, Dr. Binayak Sen has continually raised awareness in Chhattisgarh with regard to human rights issues, including most recently the killing of 12 members of an adivasis indigenous community, in the district of Bijapur, on 31 March 2007.