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| India-Pakistan |
| Man acquitted in Frenchmen killing case |
| 2009-10-31 |
| [Dawn] An anti-terrorism court acquitted a man on Friday in a case relating to the killing of 11 Frenchmen in a suicide bomb attack outside Sheraton Hotel in May 2002. The accused, Mohammad Sohail alias Akram, who was described as a member of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen al-Alami, was charged with masterminding the suicide bombing that killed 14 people including two bystanders. Judge Abdul Ghafoor Memon of the ATC-II pronounced his verdict after recording testimonies of witnesses and final arguments from both sides. The court also issued the release order of Sohail, directing the jail authorities to release him forthwith if not required in any other case. The judge wrote in his verdict that after considering the material evidence available on record, he was of the considered view that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against the accused beyond any reasonable doubt. The verdict stated that the prosecution had focused on the confessional statement of a co-accused who had been acquitted by the high court, and, therefore, this piece of evidence was discarded. There were material contradictions in the statements of witnesses which created doubts about the prosecution's case, it added. According to the prosecution, 11 French engineers and two other persons were killed on May 8, 2002, when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into the bus carrying Frenchmen near Sheraton Hotel. The Frenchmen killed in the attack were: De Lecar Bicaiteir, J.M. Cheyasutt, Claude Trouet, B. Dupond, Leclerc J.Y., Bled Cedrick, Pascal de Counte, J. Pierre Delavie, Laurnet Jaques, Grous Pastal and Donnard Jhisrry. Two local bystanders, Hashim Abbas and Mewa Begum, were also killed in the attack, which left many others wounded. The co-accused, Asif Zaheer and Mohammad Rizwan, said to be members of the same group, were sentenced to death by the same court on June 30, 2003 for organising the suicide attack. However, the convicts challenged the trial court verdict in the Sindh High Court and on May 5, 2009, the SHC set aside their conviction and acquitted the two appellants. The same court had tried Mohammad Sohail in absentia and also sentenced him to death. However, he was arrested in 2007 and his case was retried in accordance with the law. In the final arguments, the defence counsel contended that the prosecution had miserably failed to link the accused with the alleged offence and its case was based on the confessional statement of a co-accused and the testimonies of two main witnesses, but the same set of evidence was discarded as the high court had set side the conviction of the co-accused. However, the special public prosecutor maintained that it was a case fit for conviction and sought maximum punishment for the accused. The Sindh government vowed to appeal the verdict, adds AFP. 'We'll challenge the decision in the high court soon,' said Advocate-General M. Yousuf Laghari. The government is also challenging the acquittal of Asif Zaheer and Mohammad Rizwan in the Supreme Court. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 The next time we hear of these three, the Indians will have killed them in Kashmir. Disgusting. Why we think the Pakistanis will actually work WITH us is a mystery to me. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-10-31 16:45 |
| #2 Quick arrests, long trial, release---keeps everybody happy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-10-31 15:38 |
| #1 where's the RAB when you need em? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-10-31 10:02 |