International - India & World   

NRIs feel justice must prevail in Afzal's case

Houston: In the midst of the controversy over award of death sentence to Mohammad Afzal convicted in Parliament attack case, a sizeable number of Indian Americans feel that justice and the rule of law must not be sacrificed at the altar of sheer expediency and speculative political considerations and likely fallout.

Subodh Atal, foreign policy analyst based near Washington DC, told PTI that Afzal clemency issue was not so surprising given India's consistent history in recent years as a soft State. ``Giving clemency to a terrorist, who has been found guilty of involvement in the attack on one of the greatest symbols of Indian democracy, undermines the nation's foundation as a strong republic with global aspirations," he said.

Sreeram Chaulia, a human rights activist, based in New York, is opposed to death penalty on principle, as he does not believe in State-sanctioned murder.

``However, if we were to take the principle of equality before law into account, there is no reason why Afzal should be treated separately from other prisoners on death row,'' he said. — PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

SLFP, UNP to work together
LTTE stepping up violence: Colombo
Ready for conflict, concord: N. Korea
Six lakh Iraqis killed since U.S. invasion, says report
China not for force against North Korea
Becomes richer
U.S. counsels restraint in Sri Lanka
Let's defeat extremism, Musharraf tells moderates
Nepal probe panel sends questions to the King
Mixed reaction in Turkey
"He enlarged the roots of the contemporary novel"
`U.S. committed to nuclear deal'
NRIs feel justice must prevail in Afzal's case
Musharraf `deeply hurt' by Vajpayee's denial

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu