Trial of jailed doctor begins

The trial of the jailed doctor who has been awarded a human rights award has begun this week.

Dr Binayak Sen is being charged with participation in a conspiracy to wage war against the government of India and his four day trial began on April 30th.

He has been imprisoned in Raipur for almost a year without trial following allegations he violated state terrorism laws, having allegedly passed notes from a rebel leader whom he treated in jail to a person outside the prison.

Dr Sen has been awarded the 2008 Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health for his years of service to poor and tribal communities in India.

The Global Health Organisation and other prominent global health leaders released a statement of support for Dr Sen to be released, allowing him to collect his award in person on May 29th in Washington at the 35th Annual International Conference on Global Health.