AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT AI index: ASA 20/022/2013 17 April 2013 INDIA: GOVERNMENT URGED TO STOP ALL EXECUTIONS AS NEW CONCERNS EMERGE Amnesty International is seriously alarmed by the decision issued by the Supreme Court of India in Devender Pal Singh Bhullar’s case on 12 April 2013. Amnesty International urges the Indian authorities not to carry out this or any other executions and to immediately establish a moratorium on the implementation of death sentences as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty. Devender Pal Singh’s trial fell far short of international standards for a fair trial. The Supreme Court’s decision raises concerns about the treatment of delay in the disposal of mercy petitions. Amnesty International is also deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court practically ignored highly relevant international human rights standards despite repeated acknowledgment by judges of the Indian Supreme Court that it is “an accepted rule of judicial construction that regard must be had to international conventions and norms for construing domestic law occupying the field.” 1 The recent resumption of executions and the secrecy around them have added to a highly troubling catalogue of concerns over the Indian authorities’ use of the death penalty. Unfair trial concerns: Devender Pal Singh Bhullar’s case The trial of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, one of the prisoners now at risk of imminent execution, failed to meet international standards for a fair trial. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar was sentenced to death in August 2001 for his involvement in a bomb attack in New Delhi in 1993 that killed nine people. He was arrested at the New Delhi Airport in January 1995 under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), a law that subsequently lapsed and contained provisions incompatible with international human rights law, including the right to a fair trial. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar had no access to a lawyer during his initial detention and trial. He was found guilty on the basis of an unsubstantiated confession made to the police, which he later retracted, claiming it was a false confession made under police pressure. He has maintained his innocence throughout. The Supreme Court confirmed the conviction and death sentence in March 2002. However, one of the three judges found Devender Pal Singh not guilty, concluding that there was no evidence to convict him and that a dubious confession could not be the basis for imposing a death sentence. The same Supreme Court judges, again by a 2 to 1 majority, dismissed a review petition in December 2002. The two judges in favour of the death sentence observed that the non-unanimous sentence could be a factor to be considered in the mercy petition process. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar’s petition was rejected by the President in May 2011, eight years after the request was filed. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar challenged the decision before the Supreme Court, seeking commutation of his death sentence on the grounds of inordinate delay in its consideration and challenging the constitutionality of his prolonged stay on death row, which he claimed was cruel, inhuman and degrading, in violation also of international human rights law.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 03:57:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015