Festival-goers rally behind jailed doctor

Published on Wednesday 12 August 2009 21:47

IN INDIA'S state of Chhattisgarh, plagued by malnutrition and malaria, a glimmer of hope arrived 12 years ago in the form of a pioneering doctor.

Almost 5,000 miles away in Edinburgh, festival-goers are now being asked to join a campaign to keep that hope alive.

From 1997, Dr Binayak Sen and his wife Ilena helped to run a clinic in an impoverished region, providing healthcare to mineworkers and families who would otherwise go without.

But for the past two years, the clinic has had to carry on without one of its founders. Dr Sen was arrested and imprisoned on 12 May, 2007, accused of having links with Maoist rebels – a charge he denies.

Dr Sen remained in prison for two years before eventually being granted bail in May. But he still faces life imprisonment if he is convicted of the charges.

Amnesty International is highlighting Dr Sen's plight during the Festival season, urging the public to join a photo petition by posing with a placard calling for charges against him to be dropped – charges they believe are politically motivated.

In his first UK interview since his release, Dr Sen told The Scotsman that his liberty was still under threat. He said: "The Chhattisgarh government seems determined to continue the trial and the harassment, so we do not see an end in sight."

He added: "Healthcare facilities for poor people in rural areas are unavailable and inaccessible. Our endeavour was to set up primary healthcare for some of the most deprived communities. This opened up questions of entitlement and access."

Dr Sen was removed from his community when police claimed he acted as "courier" for Narayan Sanyal, an imprisoned leader of the banned Communist Party of India (CPI-Maoist).

Amnesty said that, while Dr Sen met Sanyal in prison many times, all his visits were supervised and approved.

Weeks before his arrest, Dr Sen publicised the alleged involvement of state police and the Salwa Judum – an armed anti-Maoist campaign – in the killing of 12 members of the indigenous community.

Dr Sen said his arrest was not a great shock. "It was distressing, but not entirely unexpected."

The doctor, who while in prison was awarded the prestigious Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights, saw at first hand the squalid conditions and abuse faced by prisoners.

He said: "I had no special privileges, but I was also not subjected to special maltreatment, except three weeks during which I was in solitary confinement. The authorities took special measures to keep me isolated."

During his long detention, human rights organisations put pressure on the Indian government for his release.

Dr Sen hopes the pressure being put on the government by campaigners will highlight his plight and that of others who dare to speak out.

John Watson, Amnesty International Scotland's director, said: "This is the perfect time to remind people about the importance of free speech."