Page 17 - AUA Traveller

Mumbai bomber Yakub Memon
hanged after long battle for mercy

THE man considered to be the mastermind behind coordinated bomb attacks in dead.

Mumbai in 1993 that left 257 people dead has been executed. ‘COLD BLOOD’
Yakub Memon was hanged at a prison in the western state of Maharashtra at around
6.30 a.m. local time, Indian Home Ministry spokesman Kuldeep Dhatwalia said. Meanwhile, Amnesty International has condemned India’s use of the death penalty
In the hours before the execution was carried out, a group of prominent lawyers as a symbol of its resolve to tackle crime.
contacted India’s chief justice to seek a postponement of Memon’s hanging for two “This morning, the Indian government essentially killed a man in cold blood to
weeks -- a day after Indian President Pranab Mukherjee rejected a final plea for show that killing is wrong,” Aakar Patel, Executive Director, Amnesty International
mercy. They argued this was the minimum period of time required between the India, said in a statement.
final appeal and execution. “This execution will not deliver justice for the 1993 Mumbai blasts. It is a misguided
In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court held a special early-morning session attempt to prevent terrorism, and a disappointing use of the criminal justice system
to discuss the request before rejecting it, Dhatwalia said. as a tool for retribution.”
Memom died on his 53rd birthday. In 2006, popular Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt was also convicted of acquiring illegal
He was originally sentenced to death in 2007 as a key conspirator behind 12 blasts weapons tied to the Mumbai bombings. He was, however, cleared of a more serious
that ripped through several hotels, marketplaces and buildings in Mumbai on charge of conspiracy in the attacks.
March 12, 1993. Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said 100 of 123 suspects were convicted for their
According to the Indian prosecution team, those assaults were ordered by the local roles in the bombings, one of the longest-running trials of a terrorism case in the
underworld in revenge for the demolition of a 16th century mosque in northern country.
India by Hindu zealots. Memon was among 11 prisoners sentenced to death by the trial court. The other
The mosque’s destruction triggered a wave of religious violence that left hundreds 10 appealed their sentences, which were commuted to life in jail in 2013.

ARUBA TRAVELLER - Friday, July 31 2015 17INTERNATIONAL