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| India-Pakistan |
| India sentences Muslim militant to life in prison |
| 2009-08-29 |
| An Indian court on Friday sentenced a Muslim militant to life in prison after ruling he was guilty of sedition and plotting to wage war against the state. Mujeeb Ahmad, 46, called out his innocence to reporters after he was taken from the courthouse in this southern Indian city, saying the prosecution was politically motivated and laying blame on Asaduddin Owaisi, a powerful member of parliament who heads a mainstream Muslim political party. "Let the police make arrangements for the security of the family of the MP," he shouted in an apparent threat of revenge. Mujeeb was arrested in 2005 after police stopped a truck heading from Indian-held Kashmir to Hyderabad. Hidden amid the truck's load of marble were three assault rifles, 220 rounds of ammunition and explosive detonators. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 ...he shouted in an apparent threat of revenge. Apparent threat of revenge? It sounds very real to me. |
| Posted by: WolfDog 2009-08-29 10:26 |
| #3 laying blame on Asaduddin Owaisi, Owaisi's father was a powerful Razakar leader involved in mass killings in Hyderabad at the time of partition. The Razakars were a Muslim paramilitary that wanted the merger of Hyderabad with Pakistan. They began ethnic cleansing of the majority Hindu population but India sent in the army. The State of Hyderabad under the leadership of its 7th Nizam, Mir Usman Ali, was the largest and most prosperous of all princely states in India. It covered 82,698 square miles (214,190 km2) of fairly homogenous territory and comprised a population of roughly 16.34 million people (as per the 1941 census) of which a majority (85%) was Hindu. Hyderabad State had its own army, as well as its own airline, telecommunication system, railway network, postal system, currency and radio broadcasting service, with a GDP larger than that of Belgium. The Razakar leader was deported to Pakistan. Many of the Nizam's Arab troops were summarily executed. Owaisi is known for asking detailed questions in the Indian parliament on defence issues, primarily the status of various missile and nuclear projects. He has built a tall building that coincidently overlooks a DRDO research facility. It is assumed by many that he is an ISI asset. |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-08-29 08:24 |
| #2 It is not fixed. Indian law states that it should not be less than 14 years. The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that there is no fixed limit and a sentence continues until the state decides to commute it. There is no 'right' to be released after 14 years and the state is free to leave the person in jail until death. |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-08-29 08:14 |
| #1 Hidden amid the truck's load of marble were three assault rifles, 220 rounds of ammunition and explosive detonators Pro'lly just going down to the dump to shoot some rats. So how long is a 'life sentence' in India, compared with, say, Scotland? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-08-29 02:06 |