VZCZCXRO3768
RR RUEHAST RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHBI #0219/01 1471207
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271207Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL MUMBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7216
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 2426

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUMBAI 000219 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PTER
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST BINAYAK SEN RELEASED ON BAIL 
 
REF: A. 08 MUMBAI 136, 240 
     ¶B. 08 NEW DELHI 641 
 
MUMBAI 00000219  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U)   Summary:  Human rights activist Dr. Binayak Sen was 
released on bail from a Chhattisgarh jail on May 26 after two 
years of imprisonment on charges of abetting the state's Maoist 
insurgency.  His release was ordered by the Indian Supreme Court 
on May 25, after a long legal battle.  A longtime critic of 
Chhattisgarh's violent anti-insurgency efforts, Sen had been 
arrested under strong anti-terrorism laws, which allowed those 
arrested to be held without bail.  Sen's case had attracted the 
attention of foreign and domestic human rights activists, who 
had criticized his arrest, the slow pace of the trial, and the 
refusal of the Chhattisgarh government to grant him bail. 
Civil rights observers noted that the Supreme Court's order 
after a very brief hearing may reflect impatience with the slow 
judicial process in Chhattisgarh.  With the start of his trial 
and his release on bail, Sen has fared better than many others 
who continue to languish in jails in Western and Central India 
awaiting trial under state or federal anti-terrorism laws.   End 
Summary. 
 
 
 
Free on Bail 
 
------------ 
 
 
 
¶2. (U)  On May 25, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the 
Chhattisgarh government to grant bail to civil rights activist 
Dr. Binayak Sen in a very brief oral hearing.  The decision was 
a dramatic turn of events for Sen, who was arrested May 14, 
2007, and charged with "waging war against the state" and 
"assisting a banned organization" under the Indian Penal Code's 
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 and the 
Chhattisgarh Public Security Act, 2005.  (Note:  In India, 
public safety is a state responsibility, and individual states 
can enact internal security laws.  End note.)  The Public 
Security Act allows suspects to be held without bail.  Sen is 
alleged to have couriered letters from a Maoist prisoner to 
others and to have aided the Maoist movement (see reftels). 
This was Sen's second appeal to the Supreme Court for bail, 
which reversed a December 2008 decision of the Chhattisgarh High 
Court.  In a brief 40-second hearing on Sen's appeal, the court 
summarily granted the request without issuing a rationale, 
according to Rajendra Sail, the People's Union for Civil 
Liberties (PUCL) President for Chhattisgarh and a retired 
attorney.  Sen was then released on May 26, once the order had 
been received in Raipur, Chhattisgarh's capital.  (Note: 
Renowned for his work as a physician who brought health care to 
the rural poor in India, Sen is also the Vice-President of the 
Chhattisgarh PUCL. End Note.) 
 
 
 
¶3. (U)  As he left the jail in Raipur, Sen told reporters that 
he had never been a Naxalite sympathizer. (Note:  Naxalite is 
another name for Maoist insurgents in India who frequently 
resort to violence.  End Note.)  He said he condemns all 
violence - violence by the Naxalites, the state, and the militia 
armed by the state of Chhattisgarh to fight the Naxalites, known 
as the Salwa Judum.  Sen said he would pursue the fight against 
deplorable prison conditions.  He also told reporters that he 
fears a threat to his life by the state government.  (Comment: 
Whether such fear is well-founded is unknown, but Indian police 
have been known to arrange "encounters" in which persons 
considered criminals are killed.  End Comment.) 
 
 
 
Sen's Bail History 
 
------------------ 
 
 
 
¶4. (U)  Since his arrest in 2007, Sen repeatedly sought bail but 
had been denied based upon the Chhattisgarh Public Securities 
Act which denies bail for suspected terrorists or those who 
support terrorism.  (Note:  Bail can be granted under the 
central government's Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.  End 
note.)  His most recent bail plea included a request that he be 
released on medical grounds.  Doctors in Chhattisgarh determined 
that Sen required cardiac surgery, but the State refused to 
grant his request for out-of-state care, contending that 
adequate care was available in Chhattisgarh.  Sen's wife Ilina 
told Congenoff that her husband feared police interference with 
medical care afforded to him in Chhattisgarh. 
 
 
 
MUMBAI 00000219  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶5. (U)  The Supreme Court, however, did not base its decision on 
Sen's medical condition, according to Sail.  Sail noted that 
Sen's unconditional release upon the furnishing of a personal 
bond is a remedy generally reserved only for highly-respected 
people.  Sen's work as a human rights advocate for the 
Chhattisgarh's tribal people has earned him international 
acclaim.  He was honored with the Jonathan Mann Award for Global 
Health and Human Rights in 2008. 
 
 
 
Other Prisoners Not So Lucky 
 
---------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U)  Though Sen has been the most prominent person held 
under the anti-terrorism laws of late, many others in Western 
and Central India remain incarcerated for more than two years 
without trial.  The Chhattisgarh PUCL reports that 178 people 
have been detained under the state's anti-terrorism laws as 
alleged Maoists in that state, including businessmen, a tailor, 
journalists, NGO workers, and farmers.  In Maharashtra, several 
high-profile arrests from 2007 under the federal Prevention of 
Terrorism Act (POTA) and the Maharashtra Control of Organized 
Crime Act (MCOCA) have yet to yield trials:  Vernon Gonsalves, 
Shreedhar Srinivasan, and Arun Ferreira were arrested in Mumbai 
in 2007, allegedly as senior members of the state Maoist 
committee, but specific charges have yet to be framed, a 
necessary precursor to commencement of any trial.  Gonsalves' 
wife, attorney Susan Abraham, said she will use the Supreme 
Court's decision in Sen's case to seek bail for her husband. 
 
 
 
¶7. (U)  In Gujarat, 79 Muslims remain incarcerated under POTA, 
awaiting trial since their arrests in 2002 for involvement in 
the Godhra train fire that killed 59 Hindu activists, despite a 
ruling by the Gujarat High Court in February 2009 that the train 
fire did not constitute an act of terrorism.  The State's appeal 
of the High Court's order is pending in the Supreme Court. 
 
 
 
Sen's Trial Continues 
 
--------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8.  (U)   Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh told 
reporters that Sen's trial would continue despite the issuance 
of bail.  Sen's trial has proceeded slowly, with a few days of 
trial followed by lengthy adjournments, a common pattern in the 
Indian judicial system.  Prosecutors informed the Supreme Court 
the trial would likely conclude within three months, according 
to Sail. 
 
 
 
¶9.   (U)  Comment.  The Supreme Court order granting Sen bail 
likely reflects impatience with a judicial process that has 
dragged on for over two years.  However, others charged under 
various state and federal anti-terrorism laws sitting in jails 
in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat have yet to have dates 
set for their trials, or, in some cases, have charges filed 
against them.  The mechanism for providing expedited trials in 
high profile cases, -- like that currently used in the trial of 
Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman from the November 2008 
terrorist attacks on Mumbai -- has not been used to try those 
charged as Maoist co-conspirators or those charged with the 
Godhra train fire, indicating that the states want to avoid a 
public trial in these cases.  However, delayed trials are the 
norm in India; the Indian judicial system is extremely slow, 
with few judges, limited court resources, and over-burdened case 
dockets and backlogs.  These problems continue to afflict those 
in the justice system, regardless of the charges against them, 
which is not likely to improve soon. End comment. 
KAUFFMANEC