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Journalism of Courage
A day after the Union Home Ministry advised the President to reject the mercy petition of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru,Hurriyat chief Syed Ali Shah Geelani warned the Centre of serious consequences if he is hanged.
The death sentence to him is more a political decision than a judicial decision. If such a blunder (Gurus execution) is committed,it will have serious consequences and India cannot control the situation here notwithstanding its military power, Geelani said. Gurus death,he added,will create hundreds of Afzal Gurus in Kashmir.
Geelani said the courts did not fulfill the standards of justice in Gurus case,pointing out that he wasnt allowed to get his own lawyer to argue the case in the trial court to prove his innocence.
The Indian judiciary has not been able to prove its neutrality as far as cases of Kashmiris are concerned, he said. They consider Kashmiris as guilty even before hearing their case.
Geelani also questioned the legal standing of the death sentence awarded to Guru,saying that since Kashmir was a disputed,Kashmiris whore in jails or cases are registered against them or who have been awarded punishments are prisoners of war under the international convention. So,he said,there is no reason to award death sentence to any of them.
The Hurriyat leader said that by awarding death sentence to Guru,India had opened a psychological warfare front against Kashmir,but it cant succeed in its designs.
India is hopeful about its future in Kashmir, he said. It is now trying to frighten the people of Kashmir. The Home Ministrys recommendation (regarding Gurus mercy plea) is part of this (strategy).
The Hurriyat chief,meanwhile,called protests after prayers on Friday against the custodial killing of a young man in Sopore,killing of a mentally challenged man in a fake encounter in Poonch,alleged rape of a woman by armymen in Kulgam and molestation of a student by an armyman at Pattan.
