Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
An independent UN human rights expert has called for India to release an activist imprisoned since 2017, expressing concern over his persistent detention and deteriorating health. GN Saibaba, a former English professor at Delhi University, was arrested in 2014 and accused of links to banned Maoist groups, according to media reports. See: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2023/07/07/g-n-saibaba-in-india-continues-from-his-cell/
He was sentenced to life imprisonment three years later for multiple offences under the country’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
“GN Saibaba is a long-standing defender of the rights of minorities in India, including the Dalit and Adivasi people,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders on 21 August “His continued detention is shameful. It bears all the hallmarks of a State seeking to silence a critical voice,” she added.
UN human rights experts have repeatedly raised grave concerns about the prosecution of Mr. Saibaba, who has suffered from a spinal disorder and polio since childhood and uses a wheelchair.
His detention was declared arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in an opinion issued in 2021.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/08/1139932
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
