Death penalty upheld for Mumbai bomber
Mumbai (AsiaNews /
Agencies) - The Supreme Court of
India today confirmed the death
sentence for Mohammad Ajmal
Qasab, the sole surviving bomber in the attacks in
Mumbai in 2008. The man,
24, had appealed against the conviction from the High Court of Mumbai, claiming
that he had been denied a fair
trial and that the proceedings had
failed to prove his guilt. However, the highest Indian court rejected his appeal, thus putting an end the cases that has most ignited Indian
public opinion in its recent history.
On 26 November 2008,
a series of attacks targeted key public areas in Mumbai
including railway stations, local
airports, hospitals, and two of the most luxurious hotels in the
city, the Oberoi and
the Taj Palace. The
attacks left 166 dead and 238 wounded.
According to Indian intelligence,
the attacks were planned by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET), a terrorist organization for the liberation of
Kashmir linked to Pakistani intelligence (ISI), to which Qasab belonged and the other nine attackers Qasab (killed in the
attacks , ed.) After the initial
denial of any wrongdoing, Islamabad admitted
that the attacks were planned in Pakistan.
The charges against Qasab are: criminal
conspiracy; declaration of war against
the nation (considered the most serious by the judges, ed), murder (Section 302 of the
Indian Penal Code), terrorism (tried under the Unlawful Activities [Prevention ] Act).