The three were accused of treason, aiding Naxalites.
A Raipur court on Friday sentenced rights activist Binayak Sen, Naxalite leader Narayan Sanyal and Kolkata businessman Piyush Guha to life imprisonment on charges that they had committed sedition and conspired against the state.
Early in the day, the trial court of Additional District and Sessions Judge B P Verma held the three men guilty under penal code sections 124 (sedition) and 120 B (conspiracy) and the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act. Later in the afternoon, the court pronounced its judgment.
The 58-year-old pediatrician and vice-president of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) was arrested on May 2007 from Bilaspur. Police said he was conveying messages and letters from Narayan Sanyal to Naxalite cadres with the help of Guha. Subsequently, Sen had been granted bail by the Supreme Court last year.
Narayan Sanyal, one of the founder members of the Naxalite movement and Central Committee (CC) member of the outlawed left radical group, was arrested in Andhra Pradesh in January 2006. Since then, he had been lodged in several jails, including Raipur.
Guha was caught near the Raipur railway station in May 2007 and letters from Sanyal for members of the insurgent group was recovered from him.
The judgment against Sen, a recipient of the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights, has come as a “shock” for the family and civil rights activists.
“It is not a judgment that I would agree with,” said Elina Sen, Binayak’s wife. “A person who has given up his life for the poor has been charged of sedition and conspiracy. I hope justice will prevail.” Elina said the family is considering appealing in a higher court, with their lawyers’ consent.
PUCL General Secretary Kavita Srivastava said: “This is a shocking judgment. But he will get justice. We will fight for him.”
