NEW DELHI, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- An Indian court has denied bail to Binayak Sen, a doctor and rights activist serving a life term after being found guilty of links to Maoists, his family said.
Sen's wife Ilina told the Hindustan Times by telephone she would take the case to the Supreme Court after the high court in Chhattisgarh state denied his application for bail and suspension of his life sentence given in December. The state in central India is one of the worst-hit by Maoist-led violence.
The Times of India reported lawyers for the state government called for dismissal of his application, alleging his ties to Maoists.
The pediatrician was sentenced to a life term by a trial court for sedition. He was arrested in May 2007 on suspicion of serving as a courier for an imprisoned Maoist ideologue but Sen said his visits were medical in nature and as secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, the Hindu reported.
Sen's case has drawn attention both at home and abroad and supporters say he should be freed.
The Voice of America reported civil rights activists have said Sen, who has been running medical clinics for the children of poor people in the state, is being punished for his campaign against human rights abuses.
The Amnesty International says the charges against Sen are politically motivated.
