Mohammad Afzal

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Mohammad Afzal, also known as Afzal Guru, was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of India in 2004. The sentence was to be carried out on 20 October 2006. The sentence is now stayed.

1 Prosecution Case
2 Pressure for Clemency
3 See Also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Prosecution Case

The attack is alleged to have been conducted jointly by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) Kashmiri groups operating out of Pakistan. Seven members of the security forces, including a female constable, were killed, as were the five still incompletely identified men who carried out the attack.

Afzal's cell phone number was found on each of the attackers, written on the backs of their unsealed paper ID's, in an identical hand, according to the Indian government's prosecutors in the case, though the policeman responsible for cataloging evidence on the scene at the time said he could not recall anything written on them. There were also cell phones and SIM cards on the attackers, and it was Afzal's cell phone records, or what the government purported were his cell phone records, that was primary evidence in his conviction.

The police case was based on evidence that the individuals who participated on the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on the 13 December 2001 had been in contact with Afzal in Srinagar just prior to the operation, and on an apparent confession made by the accused.

[edit] Pressure for Clemency

There is pressure to issue clemency to Afzal from political groups in Kashmir, who believe hanging Afzal would have negative effects on the peace process in Kashmir. Muslim groups have also supported the mercy petition for Mohammad Afzal. Human rights activists in various parts of India and the world have demanded reprieve as they believe that the trial was flawed. Arundhati Roy and Praful Bidwai castigated the trial and argued that Afzal has been denied natural justice.^[1]^[2] Accusations of human rights violations have been made by many.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad of the Congress, Communist and local political groups voiced their support of clemency for Afzal. It is alleged many have done so to appease Muslim voters in Kashmir.^[3]

The Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party president and MP, Mehbooba Mufti commented that the Centre should pardon Mohammad Afzal if Pakistan accepted the clemency appeal for Sarabjit Singh. [1]

Ms. Mufti, said that if clemency appeals were made for Sarabjit citing his Indian nationality, voices should also be raised for Afzal for "he too is an Indian citizen. "Two citizens of India cannot be treated with different yardsticks" she had said.

However, The All India Anti-Terrorist Front Chairman M.S. Bitta has urged the President of India not to accept any clemency pleas on Afzal's behalf. He warned that his organisation would launch agitations if Afzal was pardoned. He also criticised statements of various political leaders and blamed them for "encouraging activities of militants in Jammu and Kashmir".[2]

An India Today poll in late October showed that 78% of Indians supported the death penalty for Afzal^[3]

On November 12, 2006, Advani, the ex Deputy PM of India, criticized the delay in carrying out the death sentence on Mohammad Afzal Guru for the Parliament terror attack.

He commented, "I fail to understand the delay. They have increased my security. But what needs to be done immediately is to carry out the court's orders".

Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy asked in her article

"What is the hurry? The man is locked up in a high-security cell on death row. He is not allowed out of his cell for even five minutes a day. What harm can he do? Talk? Write, perhaps? Surely, even in Advani's own narrow interpretation of the term, it is in the national interest not to hang Afzal? At least not until there is an inquiry that reveals what the real story is and who actually attacked parliament?" ^[4]

The BJP has severally criticized Arundhati Roy. BJP spokespoerson Prakash Javadekar said

"Those who are supporting Afzal by demanding that he should not be hanged are not only acting against public sentiment in the country but are giving a fillip to terrorist morale," ^[5]