Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba

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Detained Since: May 9, 2014.

Charges: Membership in a terrorist group in order to "conspire, advocate, incite, abet and knowingly facilitate the commission of a terrorist act and unlawful activities."

Sentence: Life in prison.

Biography: G.N. Saibaba is former professor of English Literature at Delhi University. At the time of his incarceration, he was the Deputy Secretary of the Revolutionary Democratic Front, a federation of mass organizations in India, including organizations of workers, peasants, youth, students, women, and revolutionary cultural groups. In this position, Saibaba regularly spoke out about human rights abuses against indigenous Adivasi people in the mineral rich belt of central India. He also mobilized communities against a major military offensive that the Indian government initiated in 2009 against the Adivasi that continues today.

Saibaba was arrested on May 9, 2014 during a police raid on his home and charged with terrorism-related crimes under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The government accused Saibaba of collaborating with banned Maoist insurgent groups.

The Supreme Court granted Saibaba bail in April 2016, citing his serious medical condition. He contracted polio as a child and was left 90 percent handicapped due to post-polio paralysis. His medical condition worsened in detention and he has had to undergo surgery.

The following year, in March 2017, Saibaba and his co-defendants were convicted of the charges against them. Their convictions occurred despite several irregularities in the trial, including key witnesses recanting their testimonies. Saibaba was taken back into custody and remains in prison today, despite several appeals for release on humanitarian grounds.

Saibaba suffers from paralysis due to post-polio syndrome, a condition which requires assistance with basic hygiene tasks and mobility. During his imprisonment, the government has consistently ignored and rejected appeals and petitions requesting that Saibaba be provided with medical care appropriate to his ailments or that he be allowed medical bail to seek treatment. In February 2021, Saibaba contracted COVID-19. He was sent to a hospital to receive medical care, however the facilities were not compliant with standards for individuals with disabilities.

G.N. Saibaba was RELEASED on March 7, 2024. Seven months after his release, Professor Saibaba passed away unexpectedly on October 12, 2024 due to medical complications.

Advocacy Partner: Freedom Now

Updates:

• G.N. Saibaba's book "Why Do You Fear My Way So Much: Poems and Letters from Prison" was released in 2022. The book featured poems and letters written by Saibaba since he was detained in 2014 (2022, Polis Project).
• On May 21, 2022, G.N. Saibaba began a hunger strike to protest the use of CCTV in his cell. His demands also included release on medical parole and transfer out of the compact "Anda" cell he was kept in. Four days later, on May 25, 2022, he was admitted to the prison hospital. As a result of the hunger strike, prison authorities agreed to change the direction of the CCTV camera located in front of his cell and to provide him with a water bottle, which they had previously denied him (May 26, 2022, The Wire).
• On June 7 2022, the National Confederation Of Human Rights Organisations in India expressed concerns over the state of G.N. Saibaba's health and the possibility of bleeding within his digestive tract. The group stated that Saibaba had not yet received treatment for health issues despite having been admitted to the prison hospital on May 25 and called on prison authorities to transfer him to an "appropriate hospital" (June 7, 2022, Scroll.in).
• On June 21, 2022, seven human rights organizations called on Indian authorities to release Saibaba and provide urgent medical care to him while in custody (June 21, 2022, FIDH). Additionally, during June 2022, 37 international organizations submitted a letter to the Chief Justice of India which called for him to ensure adequate medical treatment was provided to Saibaba (June 10, 2022, International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India).
• On August 23, 2022, it was reported that one of Saibaba's co-accused, Pandu Narote, was in a "near-death situation" after contracting a serious respiratory illness (August 23, 2022, Siasat). Narote died two days later on on August 25, 2022 from swine flu. Narote's lawyers alleged that prison authorities delayed treatment for the illness until it was already too severe to save him (August 25, 2022, The Wire).
• On October 14, 2022, the Bombay High Court acquitted G.N. Saibaba of all charges, along with five others, a move that was applauded by human rights organizations, including Amnesty International (October 14, 2022, Scroll.in; Amnesty International). However, soon after the acquittal was announced, the Supreme Court of India announced it would be holding an emergency session on October 15, a Saturday, where the court suspended Saibaba's acquittal, keeping him in prison (October 15, 2022, Scroll.in). This move by the Supreme Court was condemned as "deeply troubling" and "unprecedented" by legal experts in India (October 17, 2022, Scroll.in; October 22, 2022, Sabrang).
• In late 2022, protests for the release of Professor Saibaba by students and faculty at Delhi University were met with mass arrests from authorities as well as violence from other student groups (October 15, 2022; December 1, 2022; Siasat Daily).
• On December 5, 2022, 19 human rights organizations submitted a letter to the Chief Justice of India, expressing concern over his well-being and requesting that the Chief Justice reconsider the decision to suspend Saibaba's acquittal (December 5, 2022, Scholars at Risk).
• On April 20, 2023, Front Line Defenders released a statement expressing concern for G.N. Saibaba's health and calling for his immediate release (April 20, 2023, Front Line Defenders).
• G.N. Saibaba's case was highlighted in a July 2023 article titled "India: An academic is caged, his thoughts are still free, resilient and undefeated," published by the World Organisation Against Torture, wherein they called for his immediate release (July 4, 2023, World Organisation Against Torture).
• G.N. Saibaba was re-acquitted by the Bombay High Court on March 5, 2024. He was released from prison two days later on March 7, 2024 (March 7, 2024, Hindustan Times). His final acquittal and subsequent release was praised by human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, while highlighting the continued need for the release of prisoners of conscience within India and for the repeal of the UAPA law (March 7, 2024, Amnesty International; March 22, 2024, Front Line Defenders; March 14, 2024 World Organisation Against Torture).
• In an interview the day after his release, Professor Saibaba described the detrimental impact his imprisonment had on his mental and physical health, stating that he felt like he was still "inside that notorious dark anda cell" and that "every organ of my body is failing me because I was denied treatment, and medicines sent by my family were returned" (March 9, 2024, Hindustan Times).
• Saibaba's case was highlighted in the 2024 CIVICUS Monitor report "India: Crackdown on the opposition, divisive rhetoric and targeting of activists and critics persists around the elections" (May 29, 2024, CIVICUS).
• On October 12, 2024, seven months after his acquittal, G.N. Saibaba died unexpectedly from medical complications following surgery at age 57 (October 13, 2024, Scroll.in). Multiple human rights organizations have attributed his death, at least in part, to the severe deterioration of his health while held in poor prison conditions and have called for accountability from the Indian authorities. These organizations include Front Line Defenders and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (October 15, 2024, Front Line Defenders; FIDH).