Afzal Guru
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Afzal, also known as Afzal Guru, is a Kashmiri
who 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 scheduled to be carried out on 20 October 2006. Afzal was given a stay of execution and remains on death row.
The judgment mentions:
(LET) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) Kashmiri militant separatist groups. 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 IDs, in an identical hand, according to the Indian government's prosecutors in the case.
There were also cell phones and SIM cards on the attackers, and it was Afzal's cell phone records.
The police case was based on evidence that the individuals who participated on the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on 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. This was a key information for the prosecution of accused.
and Praful Bidwai
castigated the trial and argued that Afzal has been denied natural justice. Accusations of human rights violations have been made by many.
Former Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister
Ghulam Nabi Azad
of the Indian National Congress
and local political groups voiced their support of clemency for Afzal. It is alleged many have done so to appease Muslim
voters in India.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
is critical of both the Congress, who is delaying the legal procedure in the case as well as BJP who tries to whip up enmity between communities in the name of a crime done by a group of criminals. The party wants the law of the land to take its course without any interference.
Ram Jethmalani
holds that it is completely within the President's power to commute the Death sentence and is not a mercy plea. He says, "It’s a misnomer to call it a mercy petition. It leads to total misunderstanding of the constitutional power. The constitutional power is that the President has the power to disagree with the Supreme Court both with its findings of fact and law."
But others are of the view that such a sweeping Constitutional power cannot be given to the President inasmuch as it would subvert the concept of justice enshrined in the Constitution.
The Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party
president and MP, Mehbooba Mufti commented that the Centre should pardon Afzal if Pakistan accepted the clemency appeal for Sarabjit Singh
.
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 Maninderjeet Singh 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".
An India Today
poll in late October showed that 78% of Indians supported the death penalty for Afzal
On 12 November 2006, the former Deputy Prime Minister of India, Mr. Lal Krishna Advani
criticized the delay in carrying out the death sentence on Guru for the Parliament terror attack, saying, "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".
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) has severely criticized Arundhati Roy
. BJP spokespoerson Prakash Javadekar
said:
On 23rd of June 2010, the Ministry of Home Affairs has recommended the President's office to reject the mercy petition.
On the 7th of January 2011, a whisleblowing site indianleaks.in has leaked a document which states that the mercy petition file is not with President of India. This was confirmed by Home Minister P. Chidambaram
in New Delhi on 23 Feb 2011.
On the 10th of August 2011 the home ministry of India rejected the mercy petition and sent a letter to the President of India recommending the death penalty .
Posted on Sep 07, 2011 at 02:42pm IST, HuJI claims responsibility for Delhi HC blast at the Delhi High Court in which 10 people have been killed and 65 others injured. HuJI in an e-mail sent to a media house claimed that the blast was carried out in retaliation to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's death sentence.
"We owe the responsibility of todays blasts at high court delhi..... our demand is that Afzal Guru's death sentence should be repealed immediately else we would target major high courts & THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA," the e-mail read.
Kashmiri people
The Kashmiri people are a Dardic linguistic group living in Kashmir Valley in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language...
who was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament
2001 Indian Parliament attack
The 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a high-profile attack by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists against the building housing the Parliament of India in New Delhi...
and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
in 2004. The sentence was scheduled to be carried out on 20 October 2006. Afzal was given a stay of execution and remains on death row.
The case
Eighty witnesses were examined for the prosecution and ten were examined for defense.The judgment mentions:
- "The incident, which resulted in heavy casualties, has shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will be satisfied if the capital punishment is awarded to the offender."
The prosecution's case
The attack was conducted jointly by the Lashkar-e-ToibaLashkar-e-Toiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
(LET) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) Kashmiri militant separatist groups. 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 IDs, in an identical hand, according to the Indian government's prosecutors in the case.
There were also cell phones and SIM cards on the attackers, and it was Afzal's cell phone records.
The police case was based on evidence that the individuals who participated on the terrorist attack on Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001 had been in contact with Afzal in Srinagar
Srinagar
Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...
just prior to the operation, and on an apparent confession made by the accused. This was a key information for the prosecution of accused.
Pressure for clemency
There is an appeal to issue clemency to Afzal from various human rights groups including political groups in Kashmir, who believe that Afzal Guru did not receive a fair trial and was subject to a frame up of corrupt and inefficient police work. Human rights activists in various parts of India and the world have demanded reprieve as they believe that the trial was flawed. Arundhati RoyArundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...
and Praful Bidwai
Praful Bidwai
Praful Bidwai is an Indian journalist, political analyst, and activist.-Journalist and columnist:Praful Bidwai is an Leftist political analyst and commentator, a social science researcher, and an activist on issues of peace, global justice, human rights and environmental protection.Bidwai's...
castigated the trial and argued that Afzal has been denied natural justice. Accusations of human rights violations have been made by many.
Former Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
Ghulam Nabi Azad
Ghulam Nabi Azad
Ghulam Nabi Azad is an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress and the current Minister of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India....
of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
and local political groups voiced their support of clemency for Afzal. It is alleged many have done so to appease Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
voters in India.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
is critical of both the Congress, who is delaying the legal procedure in the case as well as BJP who tries to whip up enmity between communities in the name of a crime done by a group of criminals. The party wants the law of the land to take its course without any interference.
Ram Jethmalani
Ram Jethmalani
Ram Jethmalani, : राम जेठ्मलानी,: رام جيٺملاڻي born 14 September 1923, in Shikharpur in Sindh, British India) is an Indian lawyer and politician. He has served in various posts such as Union Law Minister and Chairman of Bar Associations...
holds that it is completely within the President's power to commute the Death sentence and is not a mercy plea. He says, "It’s a misnomer to call it a mercy petition. It leads to total misunderstanding of the constitutional power. The constitutional power is that the President has the power to disagree with the Supreme Court both with its findings of fact and law."
But others are of the view that such a sweeping Constitutional power cannot be given to the President inasmuch as it would subvert the concept of justice enshrined in the Constitution.
The Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party
Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party
The Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party is a state political party in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It was founded in 1999 by the former Union Home Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, and captured power in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in October 2002 assembly elections. Since 2004 it has one...
president and MP, Mehbooba Mufti commented that the Centre should pardon Afzal if Pakistan accepted the clemency appeal for Sarabjit Singh
Sarabjit Singh
Sarabjit Singh, also known as Jaljit Singh, is an Indian citizen and convicted terrorist jailed in Pakistan. He was convicted for his involvement in 1990 serial bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan that killed 14 people...
.
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 Maninderjeet Singh Bitta
Maninderjeet Singh Bitta
Maninderjeet Singh Bitta is the chairman of the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front , and former chief of the Indian Youth Congress.Bitta was made the president of Indian Youth Congress by P. V...
has urged the President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
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".
An India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
poll in late October showed that 78% of Indians supported the death penalty for Afzal
On 12 November 2006, the former Deputy Prime Minister of India, Mr. Lal Krishna Advani
Lal Krishna Advani
Lal Kishanchand Advani known as Lal Krishna Advani is a Veteran Indian politician. A former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the major opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He also served as a Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004...
criticized the delay in carrying out the death sentence on Guru for the Parliament terror attack, saying, "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".
The Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP) has severely criticized Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...
. BJP spokespoerson Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Javadekar is a Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha and a leader of Bharatiya Janata Party. He was Elected to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2008...
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,"
On 23rd of June 2010, the Ministry of Home Affairs has recommended the President's office to reject the mercy petition.
On the 7th of January 2011, a whisleblowing site indianleaks.in has leaked a document which states that the mercy petition file is not with President of India. This was confirmed by Home Minister P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram or Chidambaram Palaniappan, sometimes written Palaniappan Chidambaram is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and present Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India from May 2004 to November 2008...
in New Delhi on 23 Feb 2011.
On the 10th of August 2011 the home ministry of India rejected the mercy petition and sent a letter to the President of India recommending the death penalty .
Posted on Sep 07, 2011 at 02:42pm IST, HuJI claims responsibility for Delhi HC blast at the Delhi High Court in which 10 people have been killed and 65 others injured. HuJI in an e-mail sent to a media house claimed that the blast was carried out in retaliation to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's death sentence.
"We owe the responsibility of todays blasts at high court delhi..... our demand is that Afzal Guru's death sentence should be repealed immediately else we would target major high courts & THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA," the e-mail read.
See also
- Justice for Afzal Guru - website
- 2001 Indian Parliament attack2001 Indian Parliament attackThe 2001 Indian Parliament attack was a high-profile attack by Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists against the building housing the Parliament of India in New Delhi...
- Maulana Masood AzharMaulana Masood AzharMaulana Masood Azhar is a Pakistani mujaheddin leader and the founder of the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, based mainly in the Pakistan-administered portion of the state of Kashmir....
- Indian Airlines Flight 814Indian Airlines Flight 814Indian Airlines Flight 814 commonly known as IC 814 was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India on Friday, December 24, 1999, when it was hijacked...
- Ajmal KasabAjmal KasabMohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab is a Pakistani Islamic terrorist who was involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks in India. Kasab is the only attacker captured alive by police and is currently in Indian custody. The Government of Pakistan initially denied that Kasab was from Pakistan, but in January 2009,...