The International League of Peoples Struggles (ILPS) demands that the Indian authorities release Dr. G.N. Saibaba from jail in order to receive urgent medical treatment.
Dr. Saibaba who has been held in jail for six years now as part of a life sentence is wheelchair-bound and has developed severe additional ailments which require urgent medical treatment especially now that there is an additional threat from COVID-19 in India’s overcrowded jails.
Dr. Saibaba has been a vocal advocate for the rights of Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims, and other oppressed communities and a staunch defender of peoples’ democratic and human rights and should not be in prison.
The Supreme Court of India has upheld the right to life and reflected on prisoners by stating that ”the treatment of a human being which offends human dignity, imposes avoidable torture and reduces the man to the level of a beast would certainly be arbitrary and can be questioned.” The Indian Government has also adopted the United Nations Resolution on the minimum rules for prisoners, and it has ratified the U.N. Convention on rights of persons with Disabilities.
Dr. Saibaba suffers severe physical pain caused by the degeneration of muscles in his hands. He is plagued by pancreatitis, high blood pressure, cardiomyopathy, chronic back pain, immobility and sleeplessness. The jail conditions have also strained the functioning of his heart. His release is obviously urgent.
The ILPS demands that the Indian Government ensure the life and dignity of prisoners in Indian Jails, and that it immediately release Dr. Saibaba as well as all other political prisoners. ###
Signed:
Len Cooper
Chairperson
International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS)
14 May 2020
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