New Delhi, April 06: There is hope for the 17 Indians facing death for allegedly killing a Pakistani in the UAE. A leading local law firm in Sharjah — that has been hired with assistance from the Indian Consulate in Dubai — is expected to file an appeal in a higher court later this week.
On Monday, sources said lawyers from Md Suleman Advocate & Legal Consultants would meet the 17 Indians lodged in a Sharjah jail in a couple of days and subsequently file an appeal.
Consulate officials will assist them in the process, sources said. The consulate has been given access to the sentenced Indians.
The appeal in the higher court has to be made within the prescribed period of two weeks from the date of judgment by the lower court.
The UAE on Monday assured India about the issue and claimed its legal system guaranteed a fair trial and the death sentence was subject to appeal.
“ Death penalty in the UAE legal system is subject to appeal and cessation by the rule of law without any interference from the parties,” the UAE embassy in India said in a statement.
Urging India to trust its legal system, the embassy said: “ We fully trust our legal system and its procedures and are sure it will provide and guarantee a fair trial to the convicted people.” The court in the UAE provided lawyers for those unable to get legal help themselves and gives them the right and the means to defend themselves in court, the statement added.
The UAE’s clarification comes
amid concerns over the fate of the 17 Indians who were sentenced to death on March 29 by a Sharjah sharia court for allegedly killing a Pakistani and injuring three others following a row over illegal alcohol business in 2009.
Bootlegging is a serious crime in the UAE, like in all other Gulf nations. The 17 men are young and most are in their 20s.
Most of them come from impoverished families based in rural Punjab.
The convicts’ kin had earlier gathered in Jalandhar and appealed to the government to intervene in the matter.
Union external affairs minister S. M. Krishna termed as unfortunate the death sentence given to the 17 Indians and instructed his ministry to assist them in filing an appeal and also bear all the expenses involved.
–Agencies