Resolution

At a meeting of the Society for the Protection of Detainees’ andPrisoners’ Rights on Saturday, September 24, 2005 at Taj HotelBudshah Chok Srinagar, we were deeply shocked to learn thatMohammad Afzal has been sentenced to death by the SupremeCourt of India without having an opportunity to defend himself. Thisis one more example of how the Indian courts are used for makingpolitical statements at the cost of lives of Kashmiri people. On theone hand the Indian political leaders talk about peace process inKashmir and taking confidence building measures on the otherhand Kashmiris like Afzal are sentenced to death without even afair trial?

The judgement of the Supreme Court states that the attck on theIndian Parliament resulted in heavy casualties and has "shakenthe entire nation and the coolective conscience of the socity willonly e satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender."

We the people of Kashmir ask why the collective conscience ofIndians is not shaken by the fact that a Kashmiri has beensentenced to death without a fair trial, without a chance to representhimself? Throughout the trial at the sessions court MohammadAfzal asked the judge to appoint a lawyer. He even named variouslawyers but they all refused to represent him. Is it his fault that theIndian lawyers think that it is more patriotic to allow a Kashmiri todie rather than ensure he gets a fair trial?

At the High Court an Indian human rights lawyer who volunteeredto represent Afzal actually asked the court that Afzal wanted to bekilled by a lethal injection instead of by hanging. Afzal did not knowthat his lawyer had filed such a petition on his behalf till after thecase was over and he had been given three death sentences.

At the Supreme Court the senior lawyer and former Law Minister,Shantibhushanji [Shanti Bhushan] , who was representing another co-accused toldthe court that Afzal was guilty and deserved to die. He made suchstatements throughout, both inside the court and in the print media.

In Sarabjeet Sigh’s case the Indian Prime Minister and Indian mediahas been campaigning with the Pakistan authorities to spare hislife. And for the sake of the Indo-Pak friendship process SarabjeetSingh’s life will be spared but is it not a contradiction that the sameleaders think that Azal’s life needs to be sacrificed at the altar of false notion of national security.

We resolve to launch a Kashmir-wide signature campaign insupport of our demand that the death sentence on Afzal becommuted.

Syed Ali Geelani
Shabir Ahmad Shah
Mohammad Yaseen Malik
Mian Abdul Qayyoom
Nisar Ali