[Reader-list] Online Petition Against Death Penalty for Mohammad Afzal

[shruti j]

To:  The President of India


To
The President of India,
Rashtrapati Bhavan,
New Delhi.

Sub: PETITION AGAINST MOHAMMAD AFZAL GURU'S DEATH
PENALTY

Respected Sir,

This is an appeal pertaining to one Mohammad Afzal
Guru, 35, a resident of Sopore, a town in north
Kashmir (India), who was arrested, to our knowledge,
in December 2001 in connection with the armed assault
on the Indian Parliament on Decmeber 13 2001. He is
presently lodged in the Tihar Jail, New Delhi
condemned to be hanged on 20th instant as per the
verdict delivered by the Supreme Court of India.
In this connection it would be pertinent to point out
that under international human rights standards people
charged with crimes punishable by death are entitled
to the observance of strictest fair trial guarantees
in view of the irreversible and most extreme nature of
the penalty. Hence meting out of death penalty upon
conclusion of a trial in which the provisions of
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
had not been respected, which can no longer be
remedied by appeal, would constitute a gross violation
of the right to life as per the article 6(1) of the
aforesaid Covenant.
Keeping in view the above international humanitarian
standards, we are of the firm opinion that Afzal
Guru's trial was not according to the standards laid
out for fair trial. More so, as he was denied any
worthwhile legal assistance at the trial court - the
most crucial stage where evidences were produced and
examined, and the Supreme Court of India has rejected
the confession that is the basis of his conviction in
the trial court. Furthermore, the prosecution, has
accused him as a facilitator and not as one directly
perpetrating the said crime. And the case of the
prosecution stands entirely on "circumstancial
evidences". Consequently death penalty, in any case,
is grossly disproportionate in this case.
It is also highly pertinent that the trial, from the
word go, was highly influenced by sustained hysteric
propaganda of the Indian media, which had pronounced
him guilty and was baying for his blood even before
the trial started. It is no wonder and indeed highly
significant that under the circumstances the people of
Kashmir valley perceive this verdict nothing but as an
act of appeasement to public opinion in India.

The verdict has come at a time when there is global
campaign going on against capital punishment. So far
death sentence has been completely abolished in as
many as 87 countries and at least another 38 countries
have in practice done away with it.
In this context the impact of hanging Mohammad Maqbool
Bhat, another Kashmiri, in 1984 in the same Tihar
Jail, at the end of a trial which was perceived as
patently unfair by the people of the valley, radically
aggravating the sense of their alienation with hugely
tragic consequences must also be kept in mind.
In view of above we the undersigned earnestly urge you
to exercise your moral and legal authority to set
aside the said death sentence and also ask for a
judicial enquiry to find out the real truths behind
the dastardly attack on the Indian Parliament, as
facts have been clearly fudged and fabricated by the
investigation agency which have been clearly
acknowledged by the higher courts, and the flawed
investigations carried out thereafter. This would not
only set a healthy precedent and reinforce the common
people's trust and faith in democratic values but also
go a long way to soothe the inflamed feelings of the
people of the Kashmir valley and thereby help the
crucial "peace process" now under way.

To sign the petition, go to
http://www.petitiononline.com/ekta1/petition.html

------------------------------------------------------The
Petition against death penalty for Mohammad Afzal Guru
Petition to The President of India was created by EKTA
(Committee for Communal Amity), Mumbai, India and
written by Sukla Sen (ektapetition at yahoo.com).  This
petition is hosted here at
www.PetitionOnline.com<http://www.petitiononline.com/>as a
public service. There is no endorsement of this
petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our
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