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Dr. Binayak Sen |
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Progress on the Case of the 2008 Jonathan Mann Award Winner
 Since 1999, the Global Health Council has awarded the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights to 13 of the world's most dedicated advocates for improving the human condition. The Council announced April 21 that the winner of the 2008 Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights is Dr. Binayak Sen of Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. Sen, who helped establish a hospital serving poor mine workers in the region, founded a health and human rights organization that supports community health workers in 20 villages, and is an officer of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has been imprisoned in Raipur for more than a year as a result of allegations that he violated state antiterrorism laws. Sen denies committing any crime.
Worldwide, supporters of Sen believe the charges against him are politically motivated.
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Latest News |
Civil Rights Activist Binayak Sen Gets Bail
After the apex court granted him bail on Monday, human rights activist and Peoples' Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) leader Dr Binayak Sen expressed his gratitude to all those who had supported him during his hour of crisis. | view article.
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Although the Council does not interfere with the practice of any state or country's judicial process, we remain concerned that Sen receive due process before an impartial court of law. It is apparent to many health and human rights experts worldwide that Sen's outspoken leadership in his conflict-torn community did play a part in this pediatrician's arrest and removal from the patients and communities he serves. His trial, currently underway, is progressing slowly.
 In the spring, the Global Health Council and several prominent global health organizations issued a statement of support for Sen, requesting that Indian authorities find the means to allow the doctor to receive his award in person at the 35th Annual International Conference on Global Health in Washington, D.C. The petition was ignored, but Sen's wife, Dr. Ilina Sen, was granted a visa and received the Mann Award on his behalf.
Dr. Sen is not the first Mann Award winner to be arrested in the course of fighting for the right to health for all people, and he is not likely to be the last. The Council continues to monitor his case closely and will, periodically, alert its members to developments in this case and Dr. Sen's condition.
For updates on the progress of the Sen trial, please visit the Free Binayak Sen Campaign on the internet.
Below are links to information, statements and media coverage that have been particularly relevant to this case.
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