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India-Pakistan
Eleven jailed for life over Gujarat riots
2005-12-15
NEW DELHI: Eleven people were jailed for life by an Indian court on Wednesday for killing 11 men, women and children in the deadly 2002 riots in western Gujarat, reported the Press Trust of India (PTI). The court in Godhra acquitted 18 others in the same case for lack of evidence. Riots erupted in Gujarat after 59 Hindus travelling on a train died in Godhra after a fire started by a suspected Muslim mob.

The accused were charged with attacking a group of Muslims who had taken shelter in a village school in Panchmahal, said the news agency, quoting the victims’ lawyer. Armed with sharp weapons, they attacked the group and killed 11 people, including six women and two children who were thrown into a well, while two elderly persons were burnt alive, it said.
Posted by:Fred

#1   This judgement from October 2005 is relevant to the convicted rioters

Life imprisonment means for life, not 14 years, clarifies Supreme Court
New Delhi – Life sentence means imprisonment for life and is not equivalent to imprisonment for 14 years or 20 years, the Supreme Court of India has clarified, while dismissing a writ petition – a decision that will have far-reaching implications.

Life term punishment is a class of penalty “different from ordinary imprisonment and it must be treated as imprisonment for the remaining period of the convict's natural life,” the apex court has observed.

Unless it was commuted or remitted by the appropriate authority, a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment was bound by the law to serve the entire life term in prison, it explained.
Posted by: john   2005-12-15 15:04  

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