Deprived of own freedom Dr Binayak Sen wins global rights award

COMMITTEE FOR THE RELEASE OF DR BINAYAK SEN
PRESS RELEASE
23 APRIL 2008

Jailed pediatrician, humanitarian worker and civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen has become the first South Asian ever to win the prestigious 2008 Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights.

The Global Health Council is the world’s largest membership alliance of public health organizations and professionals working to improve health and save lives among the poor. The Council serves and represents public health organizations and professionals working in more than 140 countries on six continents.

Keeping in view Dr Sen’s current status as a prisoner of conscience, the Global Health Council, along with other international health organisations has requested Indian authorities to find the means to allow Dr Sen to receive his award in person in Washington, DC on May 29th, 2008, at the 35th Annual International Conference on Global Health.

In a letter to the President of India, the Prime Minister of India, and the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Dr. Nils Dulaire, President of the Global Health Council, has written:

” We wish to be clear: it is not our intent to interfere with the judicial process. We simply request that this doctor’s good works and highly regarded reputation as a man of science and service, and his international following, serve as guarantee of his obligation to return to India to participate in a just and fair judicial process after the awards ceremony, if his case is not resolved sooner.

The world is watching this case. Some have expressed concern that it might represent a dwindling respect for civil liberties in India. We believe, however, that allowing Dr. Sen to attend the award’s ceremony would send a strong signal internationally that would help to restore faith that India and its states are indeed committed to fairly addressing this and other cases related to civil conflicts and civil liberties. Dr. Binayak Sen’s travel to the United States for this purpose would pose no threat to the security of Chhattisgarh or the integrity of the Indian judicial system.

Please consider finding the means to allow him to receive his award in person.”

Dr Sen was detained under anti-terrorist legislation on May 14, 2007, by the Chattisgarh government and accused of passing notes from a Maoist rebel leader he was treating in jail to someone outside the prison. Dr Sen denies committing any crime and says his activities in jail were supervised by prison authorities.

According to a press statement by the GHC the 58-year-old pediatrician was selected by an international jury of public health professionals for the prestigious Jonathan Mann award because of his years of service to poor and tribal communities in India, his effective leadership in establishing self-sustaining health care services where none existed, and his unwavering commitment to civil liberties and human rights.

Of note, nine of the 2008 nominees are Indian: Dr. Swami Hardas of Pune, Mr. Surya Makaria of Hyderabad, Mr. Deelip Mhaske of Mumbai, Dr. Ugrasen Pandey of Firozabad, Dr. Prameelamma Pedamali of Srikalahasti, Dr. Kamalesh Sarkar of Kolkata, Dr. Mukesh Shukla of Surendranagar, Dr. Diwakar Tejaswi of Patna, and Dr. Binayak Sen of Raipur.

In addition to working with the People’s Union for Civil Liberties Dr Sen and his wife, Dr. Ilina Sen, are the founders of Rupantar, a community-based nongovernmental organization that has trained, deployed and monitored the work of community health workers spread throughout 20 villages. Rupantar’s activities include initiatives to counter alcohol abuse and violence against women, and to promote food security.

“Dr. Sen’s accomplishments speak volumes about what can be achieved in very poor areas when health practitioners are also committed community leaders”, said Dr. Nils Daulaire, president of the Global Health Council.

Many national and global organizations and prominent persons have protested Dr Sen’s arrest and his long imprisonment without trial. He was recently released from a period of solitary confinement and has suffered health problems resulting from his nearly year-long imprisonment. Dr Sen’s supporters around the world have asked the Chattisgarh government to withdraw all charges against him and release him immediately.

As the 2008 Mann Award winner, Dr. Binayak is the tenth individual and the first South Asian to be thus honored by the Global Health Council. Previous winners include the following. Dr. Bogaletch Gabre, a champion of women’s rights who is a pioneer in eradicating the practice of female genital excision in Ethiopia (2007); Dr. Juan Canales, who helped marginalized peasants and indigenous communities in conflict-ridden areas of El Salvador and Mexico gain their human right to health care by establishing community medicine and public health programmes (2006); Prof. Abdel Mohammad Gerais who advocated for and established reproductive health services to those most in need in Egypt (2005); Dr. Sima Sahar who led innovative programs in health, education, construction, relief, and income generation to improve the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan (2004); Mr. Zackie Achmat and Dr. Frenk Guni, who have worked to raise awareness and advocate for equity of people with HIV/AIDS in South Africa and Zimbabwe (2003); Dr. Ruchama Marton and Mr. Salah Haj Yehya, associated with Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, providing volunteer health care in the occupied territories of the Wset Bank (2002); Dr. Gao Yaojie, a gynaecologist involved in HIV/AIDS care and prevention work in China (2002); Dr. Flora Brovina and Dr. Vjosa Dobruna who worked with refugees in the Kosovo conflict and now with women and children victims of war crimes, in Kosovo (2000); and Dr. Cynthia Maung who committed her life to healing victims of human rights abuses in Burma (1999).

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