G.N. Saibaba, a former English professor from Delhi University, was arrested in 2014 and convicted in 2017 for alleged links to the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and peaceful academic activities. Very recently, the Bombay High Court acquitted him, but the ruling was recently reversed by India’s Supreme Court, despite his ill health.
November 4, 2022
Droupadi Murmu
President of the Republic of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi, 110004
Republic of India
Dear President Murmu:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers, and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.
We are once again asking your government to intercede in the case of Dr. Gokarakonda Naga (G.N.) Saibaba, an English professor at Delhi University serving a life sentence for his advocacy of victims in the conflict between the Indian government, Salwa Judum vigilantes, and the separatist (Maoist) Communist Party of India (CPI).
Dr. Saibaba has been in prison since May 2014, serving a life sentence since March 2017, for his involvement with the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), an organization the government considers linked to the CPI identified by the government as a terrorist organization. It would appear that he is being punished for RDF’s advocacy against the use of military violence – especially by paramilitary forces against civilians in the areas of India most affected by the conflict. He has no prior criminal history.
We wrote you about Dr. Saibaba in April 2018, September 2018, June 2020, May 2021, and January 2022, calling for his release on humanitarian grounds.
CCS feels it is important to write to you again, given the latest developments by the Bombay High Court and its decision to acquit Dr. Saibaba, followed by a ruling of the Supreme Court overturning that decision.
Dr. Saibaba is 55 years old and confined to a wheelchair due to the effects of polio that he had earlier in his life. He also suffers from other health conditions, including recent infections from COVID-19.
The facilities in Nagpur Central Jail, where he is imprisoned, cannot accommodate his disabilities and he is not granted the medical support he needs.
Both Dr. Saibaba’s imprisonment for peaceful activities, and the abusive treatment he is receiving in prison, violate the terms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Republic of India is a signatory. Therefore, we urge you to release Dr. Saibaba promptly, at least on medical leave, so that he may receive proper treatment at a hospital that can appropriately treat him.
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We will be closely following developments in this case.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
Cc:
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Minister of External Affairs
Ministry of External Affairs
Government of India
South Block, Raisina Hill
New Delhi, Delhi, India 110001
Email: usdd2@meaindia.in
Antony J. Blinken
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520 USA
Phone: (202) 647-4000
H.E. Taranjit Singh Sandhu
Ambassador
Embassy of the Republic of India
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 1 202 939 7000
Email: psamb.washington@mea.gov.in
Patricia A. Lacina
Chargé D’Affaires
United States Embassy – New Delhi
Panchsheel Marg
Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, 110021
Phone: +011-91-11-2419-8000