The following paragraph from the BBC news below is thought provoking. I am sure there will be various different views from the netters.
[As Hussain left the courtroom, he was reported as saying: "If asking for the liberation of Kashmir is terrorism then I am a terrorist." ] -- What the convict hasn't yet realized is that asking for liberation is not terrorism, but an attempt to blow up the parliament and kill people in it is terrorism. Probably he thinks he is a soldier in an army and the battleground extends to the crowded bazaars in Kashmir and Delhi, and the government offices.
Dilip Deka
Mohammed Afzal, a 35-year-old fruit merchant, Shaukat Hussain and SAR Geelani, a Delhi college teacher, were convicted on Monday on charges of waging war on the state and conspiracy to murder.
The fourth, Navjot or Afsan Guru, wife of Hussain, who was found guilty of "withholding information" from police, received five years imprisonment.
|
Judge Dhingra |
Relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated after the attack, as they mobilised up to a million men along their common border, leading to international concern about a possible war.
Lawyers for the men plan to appeal.
The death sentence must also be ratified by a higher court under Indian law.
Attack plot
Judge SN Dhingra said the accused had also been inspired by Osama Bin Laden.
"They are enemies of mankind. They deserve no leniency," he said.
Nine people were shot dead when five armed gunmen entered the grounds of parliament in Delhi in December last year.
All five attackers were shot dead by police.
None of the accused took part in the attack, but prosecutors said they helped in the planning it.
A recently-enacted anti-terrorism law views any aid to "terrorists" carrying out an attack as "terrorism".
The judge said the accused had intended to capture parliament and to kill the prime minister and home minister.
Kashmir
As Hussain left the courtroom, he was reported as saying: "If asking for the liberation of Kashmir is terrorism then I am a terrorist."
India blames Pakistan for backing Kashmiri militant attacks on India - a charge that Islamabad has denied.
In recent months the tension has eased as both sides have pulled back their forces.
And in October, a new government came to power in Indian-administered Kashmir after successful elections to the state legislative.
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now
