Ajit Bhuyan, editor of the widely read Assamese-language newspaper "Asomiya Protidin" ("Assamese Daily") and its sister paper, the Assamese-language weekly "Sadin" ("Seven Days"), has been the target of repeated arrests since August 1997. According to news reports, Bhuyan has been linked by state authorities to the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and with complicity in the kidnapping and murder of social activist Sanjay Ghosh, who died while in ULFA custody. Since 25 August, he has been arrested and charged with related crimes four times. Most recently, on 1 October, he was accused of having ties to the ULFA and charged under the National Security Act with "trying to wage war against the country."
Bhuyan, who is in very poor health, is currently hospitalized in the Assam Medical College Hospital under judicial custody.
Local journalists note that Bhuyan is respected by his colleagues and his papers are held up as examples of critical reporting in the midst of a tense separatist conflict.
