The All-India Students’ Association and the All-India Progressive Women’s Association staged a protest against the life imprisonment awarded to human rights activist Binayak Sen. Writer Arundhati Roy and social activist Swami Agnivesh also joined the protest.
“If you are charging Sen with sedition, then slap the same charge against me also. I am with him,” said Swami Agnivesh. Calling Sen a “dedicated soul,” he added that the verdict has shaken everyone.
Ms Roy said there was “hardly any connection” between the judgment that was delivered and the evidence produced in the court. She said that Dr Sen’s case was a “symbol” of something “terrible that’s happening”.
“His life and work had already been destroyed,” the writer said.
Sen was found guilty along with Naxal ideologue Sanyal and Kolkata-based businessman Guha for colluding with Maoists in their fight against the state. The 58-year-old activist was arrested from Bilaspur in 2007 for allegedly acting as a courier for Narayan Sanyal and was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Raipur sessions court on December 24.