/ 1 April 2009

Mumbai attacks lawyer stands firm despite protests

The lawyer appointed to defend the lone Islamist militant suspect captured in the Mumbai attacks said on Wednesday she would still take on the case, despite protests and fears for her safety.

A shaken Anjali Waghmare had asked judges for one day to consider her position following demonstrations outside her home by stone-throwing activists from the radical Hindu Shiv Sena group.

She returned to court on Wednesday to say she had decided to retain the brief and represent Mohammed Ajmal Amir Iman.

”I’m doing everything in the interests of the country,” she told reporters afterwards, asking for support to ensure proceedings took place in a ”fair, smooth manner, which is in my interests and the interests of the public”.

Waghmare was selected from the state legal aid team to defend Iman — also known as Kasab — on Monday, ending a four-month legal limbo for the 21-year-old Pakistani national, during which he has had no lawyer.

Iman was arrested on November 26 last year, soon after a group of 10 heavily armed extremists began a 60-hour assault on India’s financial and entertainment hub, which left 165 dead and more than 300 injured.

He faces a string of charges, including ”waging war” on India, murder and attempted murder, which carry a possible death sentence if he is convicted.

Outrage at the attacks prompted many people to say that Iman did not deserve legal representation. Shiv Sena previously said he should be hanged without trial.

Waghmare, who described the protests against her as ”shocking and unexpected”, said she had now been assigned security for her own protection.

Protesters said they were outraged at her acceptance of the case given that some of her neighbours were involved in the operation against the gunmen and were among those killed, according to Indian media reports. — Sapa-AFP