Petition against Mohammad Afzal Guru 's Death Penalty

The President of India,
Rashtrapati Bhavan,
New Delhi.

Sub:Petition against Mohammad Afzal Guru 's Death Penalty

Respected Sir,

It is to bring to your kind notice that one Mohammad Afzal Guru, 35, a resident of Sopore, a town in north Kashmir, was arrested, to our knowledge, in December 2001 in connection with the armed assault on the Indian Parliament on Decmebr13 2001. He is presently lodged in the Tihar Jail, New Delhi waiting to be hanged on 20th instant as per the verdict delivered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.

In this connection we'd like to draw your attention further to the fact 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 trial laid out for fair trial. In his case the Supreme Court of India has rejected the confession that is the basis of his conviction in the trial court. And according to the evidence produced by the prosecution, he was accused as a facilitator and not as one directly perpetrating the said crime. And thereby death penalty is grossly disproportionate to the alleged crime committed by him according to the prosecution. By no stretch of imagination it falls under the category of the "rarest of rare" cases. It is also highly pertinent that the trial, from the word go, was highly influenced by the sustained propaganda of the Indian media, which had pronounced him guilty even before the trial started. It is no wonder and highly significant that under the circumstances the people of Kashmir valley perceive this verdict nothing but as an act of appeasement to the jingoistic pride of India.

The verdict has come at a time when there is global campaign going on against capital punishment. So far 128 nations have reportedly abolished it from their statutes and more are expected to follow.

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 Constitutional prerogative to set aside the said death sentence and also institute 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 Indian democracy but also go a long way to soothe the inflamed feelings of the people of the Kashmir valley and thereby help the "peace process" now under way.