Geelani warns Centre against hanging Guru

Geelani said the courts did not “fulfill the standards of justice” in Guru’s case,pointing out that he wasn’t allowed to get his own lawyer to argue the case in the trial court to prove his innocence.

“The Indian judiciary has not been able to prove its neutrality as far as cases of Kashmiris are concerned,” he said. “They consider Kashmiris as guilty even before hearing their case.”

Geelani also questioned the legal standing of the death sentence awarded to Guru,saying that since Kashmir was a disputed,Kashmiris “who’re in jails or cases are registered against them or who have been awarded punishments are prisoners of war under the international convention.” So,he said,“there is no reason to award death sentence to any of them”.

The Hurriyat leader said that by awarding death sentence to Guru,India had opened “a psychological warfare front against Kashmir”,but “it can’t succeed in its designs”.

“India is hopeful about its future in Kashmir,” he said. “It is now trying to frighten the people of Kashmir. The Home Ministry’s recommendation (regarding Guru’s mercy plea) is part of this (strategy)”.

The Hurriyat chief,meanwhile,called protests after prayers on Friday against the custodial killing of a young man in Sopore,killing of a mentally challenged man in a fake encounter in Poonch,alleged rape of a woman by armymen in Kulgam and molestation of a student by an armyman at Pattan.