Related News

Home » World

Lawyer dismissed in Mumbai trial

THE state-appointed lawyer for the Pakistani suspect charged in last year's Mumbai terror attacks was barred from representing him yesterday because of a conflict of interest, a special judge said moments before the trial was to begin.

Trial judge M.L. Tahiliyani said lawyer Anjali Waghmare had failed to disclose that she had also represented a witness injured in the attacks in a compensation claim case.

Tahiliyani said he would appoint a new lawyer for the suspect, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, but the development would delay the opening of the much-anticipated trial.

"I don't want to appoint a junior or raw lawyer for him," he said.

Police say Kasab was the only gunman captured during the November attacks in Mumbai, which left 164 people dead. He could face the death penalty if he is convicted of 12 criminal counts, including murder and waging war against India.

Kasab stood barefoot in the courtroom, dressed in a gray T-shirt and blue Adidas pants. He chatted and chuckled with his co-defendants, two Indian nationals charged with helping plot the attacks.

Kasab also asked judge Tahiliyani to get him a Pakistani lawyer, to which the judge replied that a similar request from him had already been forwarded to the Pakistani consulate without any reply.

The court was due to meet this morning to decide on Kasab's legal defense.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend