Mumbai gunman sentenced to hang
Source: Agencies |
May 7, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
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THE only surviving gunman from the bloody Mumbai attacks, a 22-year-old Pakistani man who became the face of the assault after being caught on video storming a train station armed with an assault rifle, was yesterday sentenced to death in India.
Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, who held his face in his hands and wept when the sentence was announced, had been found guilty of murder and waging war against India on Monday for his role in the three-day siege that claimed 166 lives in the nation's financial capital.
A photograph of Kasab wielding an assault rifle at the train station became the iconic image of the attacks. People outside the station set off firecrackers in celebration after the sentence was announced yesterday.
Judge M.L. Tahaliyani said Kasab "shall be hanged by the neck until he is dead." In rejecting Kasab's contention that he had committed the crime under duress and pressure from militants, the judge added: "Such a person can't be given an opportunity to reform himself."
The death sentence must be reviewed by the High Court. Kasab can also appeal the decision and apply for clemency to the state and central governments, though his lawyer said that no decision had been made yet on the next step.
Such motions often keep the convicted on death row for years, even decades, in India, which has not executed anyone since 2004. The special prosecutor in the trial, Ujjwal Nikam, said in an interview that he expected it would take at least a year for the sentence to be carried out.
The November 2008 siege - when 10 young men armed with assault rifles attacked two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a busy train station - reverberated across India. Millions watched on television as the rampage turned into a siege on the hotels, while guests and staff hid.
Kasab and an accomplice killed and wounded dozens of people at one of Mumbai's busiest train stations.
"The judge has come to the most appropriate conclusion and it could send a positive message to anyone who would like to wage a war against India," India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said.
India blames a Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, for masterminding the attack.
There has been no public support and sympathy for Kasab in Pakistan during his trial, and official reaction to his sentencing was muted.
"We would appreciate that our legal experts need to go through the detailed judgment. At this stage, what I can tell you is that Pakistan has strongly condemned the horrific Mumbai attack. It is important that culprits are brought to justice," Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said.
Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, who held his face in his hands and wept when the sentence was announced, had been found guilty of murder and waging war against India on Monday for his role in the three-day siege that claimed 166 lives in the nation's financial capital.
A photograph of Kasab wielding an assault rifle at the train station became the iconic image of the attacks. People outside the station set off firecrackers in celebration after the sentence was announced yesterday.
Judge M.L. Tahaliyani said Kasab "shall be hanged by the neck until he is dead." In rejecting Kasab's contention that he had committed the crime under duress and pressure from militants, the judge added: "Such a person can't be given an opportunity to reform himself."
The death sentence must be reviewed by the High Court. Kasab can also appeal the decision and apply for clemency to the state and central governments, though his lawyer said that no decision had been made yet on the next step.
Such motions often keep the convicted on death row for years, even decades, in India, which has not executed anyone since 2004. The special prosecutor in the trial, Ujjwal Nikam, said in an interview that he expected it would take at least a year for the sentence to be carried out.
The November 2008 siege - when 10 young men armed with assault rifles attacked two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a busy train station - reverberated across India. Millions watched on television as the rampage turned into a siege on the hotels, while guests and staff hid.
Kasab and an accomplice killed and wounded dozens of people at one of Mumbai's busiest train stations.
"The judge has come to the most appropriate conclusion and it could send a positive message to anyone who would like to wage a war against India," India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said.
India blames a Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, for masterminding the attack.
There has been no public support and sympathy for Kasab in Pakistan during his trial, and official reaction to his sentencing was muted.
"We would appreciate that our legal experts need to go through the detailed judgment. At this stage, what I can tell you is that Pakistan has strongly condemned the horrific Mumbai attack. It is important that culprits are brought to justice," Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said.
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