Afzal Guru

Mohammad Afzal is an Indian from Kashmir accused and convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament. In 2004, he was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of India. The sentence was to be carried out on 20 October, 2006. The sentence is now stayed, after his family filed a mercy petition to the President.

There is a lot of pressure to issue clemency to Afzal from poltical parties in Kashmir, who believe hanging Afzal would have negative effects on peace process in Kashmir. Others believe the trial process was flawed. Accusations of human rights violations have been made by Afzal's wife.

During the joint attack, believed to have been conducted by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) of Pakistan seven members of the security forces, including a lady constable, were killed.

The police case was based on the stormers of Parliament having been in contact over their mobile phones just before the attack with Afzal in Srinagar, and on an apparent confession made by the accused.

The Supreme Court of India accordingly ordered that Mohammed Afzal be hanged on October 20. He was charged with concealing the conspiracy of the attack on Parliament.

Those seeking a moderation of the death sentence, awarded only rarely in India, focus on three points: First, two of the investigating police officers were later charged with corruption, which Afzal's advocates say calls into question their credibility in the Afzal case. Second, it is claimed that his confession was wrested in police custody without him having been offered the presence of a lawyer, a breach of Indian law; the confession should then be inadmissible. Third, they maintain that he underwent the entire trial without legal counsel of his choice.[1]

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress, Communist and local groups have come out in support of clemency for Afzal. The Bharatiya Janata Party strongly opposes clemency, as do advocacy groups for Kashmiri Pandits worldwide.

External links

• India's shame, Arundhati Roy, The Guardian, 15 December 2006
• Justice for Afzal Guru
• Mohd. Afzal: Letter of Life
• 'And His Life Should Become Extinct'
• A Wife's Appeal for Justice
• Afzal Guru: Scapegoat or a terrorist?