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CLMC demands abolition of death penalty

“Stop the vengeful execution of Yakub Memon”, the NGO says

By TCN News,

Hyderabad: The Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee (CLMC) on Monday came out strongly condemning the decision of the Indian government authorities stating that it explicitly disagrees with judiciary on the death penalty to Yakub Memon, who has undergone trial under a draconian law TADA and convicted by the TADA court.

“This Committee strongly believes that draconian laws are made only to target politically weak communities, especially Muslim community. Earlier, as it has happened with Afzal Guru and now the same is being repeated with Yakub Memon. This Committee strongly believes that the death penalty is cruel, inhuman and degrading and this Committee is opposed to its use, everywhere in the world, for whatever may be the cause, it is unjust, unreasonable and can never be acceptable to a civilized society,” Lateef Mohammed Khan, general secretary, CLMC, said in a statement here.

“Memon has surrendered himself with a hope that he will get justice, but the injustice which is happening to him and previously with Afzal Guru is exposing the fact that India is under ‘Hindutva Raj’,” the statement said, adding, “It is a matter of grave concern that under these circumstances and present trend of killing in fake encounter and hanging, the people of politically weak community i.e. Muslims, are feeling insecure and have a threat that they may be targeted at any time in the name of terrorists.”

“Muslims are forced to think that sacrificing Muslims lives has become necessary to satisfy the ‘Parliamentary democracy’ and ‘majoritarian people’ wishes!!” he said.

“In India it is exposed that death penalty is used against people who have been tortured into confessing, it is part of a shady criminal justice system and it is used in unfair or politically motivated trials,” Khan alleged. The Indian system is becoming so prejudiced that if there is any Muslim standing a trial, he is conceived as a terrorist and deserve capital punishment. And if any person from other community stands on trial with similar charges, how much ever dangerous he or she may be, they are perceived to be nationalist and the trial will go soft and at the end any punishment against them will be out of question. “This double standard of justice will be great threat to peace, security and life and liberty of marginalized sections of India,” he further added.

“It is a matter of fact that Yakub Memon is a victim of nexus of corrupt Parliamentary system of India and compromised criminal justice system. He has become a scapegoat for despicable politically motivated intentions. Manmohan Singh led UPA government hanged Afzal Guru to satisfy the ‘collective conscience of people’ with a clear intention to please the Hindutva vote bank for shrewd political calculations. Now Modi led NDA government is on same stride selecting Memon and trying to hang him as it is required to divert the attention of masses from the scams and failure of government’s sham promise of ‘Ache din’,” the statement claimed.

The Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee went further to appeal to the people to raise the voice to abolish the death penalty. The death penalty is an irrevocable error, because “all legal systems do make mistakes, as long as it exists many innocent lives will be at the gallows.”

“We demand the Government to withdraw its decision to hang Memon because if this execution sees the light of the day, it will be nothing but hanging of justice in this nation,” Khan added.