World | India
Lawyers to defy ban on defending 'terrorists'
A group of lawyers in northern India said yesterday they would defy their fellow attorneys and defend terror suspects accused of bombing courts - and killing lawyers.
- AP
- Published: 00:30 February 29, 2008
Lucknow: A group of lawyers in northern India said yesterday they would defy their fellow attorneys and defend terror suspects accused of bombing courts - and killing lawyers.
The bar association in Uttar Pradesh has refused to represent 13 suspects accused of bombing courthouses in 2005 and last November. That has left the alleged attackers sitting in jail, waiting for defence lawyers so their trials can start.
Until now, the state's lawyers have respected the bar association's ban. But a group of lawyers said yesterday it was unfair and they would represent the accused, said Zaffaryab Jilani, one of the attorneys.
"It is not fair to deprive someone from natural justice by not defending them in the court of law. If a person is guilty he should be punished," Jilani said.
Yesterday's move offered a glimpse of the divide between the country's overwhelming Hindu majority and its substantial Muslim minority.
Sporadic violence
While Hindu-Muslim relations have been largely peaceful in the six decades since India won its independence from Britain, there has been sporadic violence and the two communities often find themselves at odds over issues ranging from the role of women in public life to, it now seems, what suspects deserve the services of a lawyer.
The Uttar Pradesh bar association responded by saying the group would maintain its ban on defending the suspects - four of whom are accused in the 2005 attack, which caused no casualties, and nine of whom are suspected of planting the November bombs, which killed 12 lawyers.
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