Sharjah: The much-awaited appeal hearing against the death sentence imposed on 17 Indians in a bootlegging-murder case was adjourned to June 16 by the Sharjah Appeals Court on Wednesday amid a courtroom drama.
"Did you murder [the Pakistani] Misri Nazir Khan?" When the question in Arabic and then Hindi was directed to Harjinder Singh, the first of the 17 convicts standing in appeal at Chamber 314, all it drew was a blank as he claimed he could not understand any language other than his native Punjabi.
The judge declared that the court would meet again on June 16 to accommodate a Punjabi interpreter.
Translator in demand
Five Emirati lawyers of the Dubai-based Mohammad Salman Advocates & Legal Consultants, appointed by the Indian government to represent the 17 Indians, were present along with Consul Anshul Sharma of the Indian Consulate.
The drama, however, unfolded when human rights lawyers from India stood up while the court proceedings were on and alleged that defence lawyers from Mohammad Salman Advocates were resisting their intervention. The defence lawyers denied any such move and alleged that Indian activists were trying to derive political mileage from the situation.
"Only national lawyers can represent a case in the UAE courts," advocate Mohammad Salman told XPRESS later.
"We were requesting a Punjabi translator and our first step was a success as the judge has allowed this," he said, adding, "We have a strong defence which we will put up step by step."
Meanwhile, Indian Consul General Sanjay Verma told XPRESS that a Punjabi interpreter will be provided.
A bootlegging dispute between an Indian and Pakistani group over territorial rights had led to the death of Khan near a Sharjah labour camp in January 2009. Seventeen Indians were arrested and sentenced to death.
One of the three Pakistanis injured in the attack was present at the appeal hearing.
Talking to reporters after the hearing, advocate Navkiran Singh, General Secretary of the Lawyers for Human Rights International (LFHRI), alleged that the 17 Indians were not being given a fair trial. Supporting these claims were members of an Indian activist group called Sikhs for Justice.
Void process
Navkiran Singh said the trial is null and void if it is in a language not understood by the accused. He said the Indian authorities were not doing enough to protect Indian citizens abroad and that a Public Interest Litigation had been filed in India to make the missions more accountable.
