The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Panel demands fair trial for Binayak Sen

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Friday, Apr 25, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Panel demands fair trial for Binayak Sen

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: With human rights activist and public health specialist Binayak Sen winning the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights, members of the National Committee for the Release of Binayak Sen demanded a fair trial and his release from prison to receive the award.

The award, instituted by the Global Health Council was announced early this week.

Dr. Sen, an alumnus of Christian Medical College, Vellore, and a paediatrician, was arrested nearly a year ago on charges of links with naxalites.

Addressing a press meet here on Thursday, Rakhal Gaitonde, a committee member, said Dr. Sen had contributed immensely to the healthcare of the tribal population of Chhattisgarh and treated the people for malnutrition and malaria. He had also worked on issues of food and livelihood security and addressed problems of civil rights violations in terms of encounter deaths, takeover of tribal land and displacement of tribal people.

He is also the national vice-president of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties and the organisation’s State secretary in Chhattisgarh.

Head of Department of Psychiatry, CMC, Pratap Tharyan said Dr. Sen was the tenth recipient of the award, given to those working in the field of healthcare and human rights. However, he is still in prison without trial so far, he alleged. The Government must conduct a fair trial and permit Dr. Sen to attend the award ceremony to be conducted in Washington D.C. on May 29.

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