Click to play videoRaipur: A doctor by profession and humanitarian by instinct, Binayak Sen was held guilty for sedition and treason for being a conduit between Maoists.
On Friday, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Raipur court for allegedly helping naxals. Binayak says he will appeal against the verdict.
Activists believe that Dr Sen has been victimised for his uncompromising criticism of alleged fake encounters and Salwa Judum.
His mistake it seems is that he met an alleged Maoist idealogue Narayan Sanyal 33 times in a span of 35 days. The prosecution was able to convince the Raipur court that these meetings were not innocent.
The judge, however, acquitted Dr Sen of the charges of waging war against the state.
In a packed court on Friday, the Judge asked Dr Binayak Sen, Narayan Sanyal and Piyush Guha to state their names, professions and addresses.
He told them that under section 121 and 124 (A), “You have been found guilty."
Binayak immediately asked the judge "What is section 124 (A)?"
And the judge replied, "Sedition."
Later the judge sentenced them to life imprisonment, the maximum sentence under sector 124(A).
His children broke down and his brother screamed, but his wife held her nerves.
Dr Elina Sen, Binayak’s wife, calls the entire thing a drama and said that she’s in complete disagreement with the verdict.
Activisits feel that Dr Binayak Sen fell foul of the state for his uncompromising criticism of alleged fake ancounters and the Salwa Judum. The oldest supporters of Binayak Sen promises to fight back.
“We are not going to suffer and take this silently. We’ll protest against this”, said writer and activist Mahasweta Devi.
A gold medalist from the Christian Medical College, Vellore and winner of the 2008 Jonathan mann award, Binayak Sen spent his entire lifetime working amongst the poorest of the poor in India.
Dr Sen's trial was followed across the world. Nobel Laureates, British MPs, alumni of his Alma Mater, civil rights activists had campaigned long and hard for getting bail for the doctor. Amnesty International had called him a prisoner of conscience.
Sen’s lawyers have made it clear that they would appeal against the judgement in a higher court. The legal battle is likely to continue for some more years.
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