Open letter to the Indian National Human Rights commission

To endorse this letter, Send us an email to: admin@justiceforafzalguru.org

Partial list of endorsors so far include Anand Patwardhan, Arundhati Roy, Noam Chomsky, Harsh Mandar, Justice Suresh, S. A. R. Geelani, Sandeep Pandey, Ved Bhasin, Ziauddin Sardar Praful Bidwai, Ram Puniyani, Dionne Bunsha, Jyoti Punwani, Asgar Ali Engineer, Ammu Abraham .

November 12, 2006
Hon'ble Dr. Justice A.S. Anand
Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission,
Faridkot House,
Copernicus Marg,
New Delhi 110001

Dear Sir,

We are writing to request you to take action according to your constitutional powers in the case of Mohammad Afzal Guru of Sopore, Kashmir, to prevent a serious miscarriage of justice. The very disturbing information listed below have been brought to our attention. We urge that prompt attention be given his case. All of the circumstances listed below point to the need for a new trial for Mr. Guru, in order that justice may be done. We urge you to exercise your mandate to protect human rights and the rule of law, to obtain a new trial for Mr. Guru.

Further, in light of the disclosures of fabricated evidence by the investigation agency which have been clearly acknowledged by the higher courts, and of the manner in which Mr. Guru was tortured and manipulated by the Special Task Force, we also urge you to ask for a judicial enquiry to find out the real truths behind the attack on the Indian Parliament.

Mr. Guru was sentenced to death in the Parliament attack case by the trial court on 18 December 2002 and this sentence was upheld through appeals in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. Mr. Guru has appealed to the President of India for clemency and is currently awaiting a decision. It is clear that the trial process was flawed and highly unfair.
Mr. Guru was not provided a lawyer at the crucial trial stage.
The Special Cell of the Delhi Police, which was placed in charge of investigating the case, used the media to brand Mr. Guru as guilty even before the trial. He was produced before the media and forced to “confess”. Subsequent statements by a media person present at the event that Mr. Guru appeared to be in a highly disturbed frame of mind were ignored by the courts. The media trial, which included a film broadcast on Zee TV, previewed and approved by the then Prime Minister, was clearly a factor in prejudicing the outcome of the trial.
The confession made by Mr. Guru to the police while in custody was under duress. Mr. Guru was tortured and his family were threatened. When he was produced before a magistrate, Mr. Guru retracted his confession, yet the evidence therein was used as the basis for his conviction and sentencing.
The Delhi High Court acknowledged that the investigating agency fabricated evidence against the accused, yet upheld the verdict.
The Supreme Court rejected Mr. Guru’s confession on account of the procedural irregularities in obtaining it, yet upheld the death sentence based on nothing more than inadequate circumstantial evidence. Mr. Guru’s trial does not meet international standards for a fair trial: he was denied due process, legal counsel and the presumption of innocent until proven guilty. These violate articles 7, 10, 14, and 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. India signed and ratified the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights in 1979 and is obliged to protect the rights guaranteed therein.

It is also pertinent that under international human rights standards people charged with crimes punishable by death are entitled to the observance of strictest fair trial guarantees in view of the irreversible and extreme nature of the penalty. Carrying out the death penalty upon conclusion of a trial in which the provisions of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have not been respected, which can no longer be remedied by appeal, would be a serious reflection on the Indian judicial system.

Sincerely,
The undersigned

(Partial list so far, )

Send us you endorsment to: admin@justiceforafzalguru.org

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