The Hindu : Plea to ensure `fair' trial for Geelani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 10, 2003

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Plea to ensure `fair' trial for Geelani

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JAN. 9. A petition has been sent to the National Human Rights Commission asking that it ensure that Syed Abdul Rehman Geelani, the Delhi University lecturer convicted in the December 13 Parliament attack case, is given a fair trial. The NHRC said the petition would be placed before a meeting of the full Commission.

The petition, signed among others by journalist P Sainath, film maker Anand Patwardhan and Human Rights campaigner Ravi Nair, states: "we are well aware of the seriousness of the charges against Mr. Geelani but we are deeply concerned about the fact that he is being denied a fair trial".

The petition said that Mr. Geelani had been convicted on the basis of a two-and-a-half minute conversation with his younger brother, who had telephoned to ask for a syllabus and prospectus.

It expressed shock at the fact that the evidence of independent witnesses, a well-known trade unionist and a film-maker, who transcribed and translated the telephone conversation from Kashmiri was dismissed as the "testimony of interested witnesses".

The petition drew the NHRC's attention a letter to the Chief Justice of India, signed by 200 university teachers, which listed the number of legal safeguards denied to Mr. Geelani at the pre-trial stage and during the trial.

It called on the NHRC to do all in its power to "ensure that Mr. Geelani gets a fair trial and that his right to a counsel of his choice is enforced".

In the light of the threats to senior counsel and Rajya Sabha MP, Ram Jethmalani, who is to represent Mr. Geelani at the High Court, the all-India defence committee for Syed Abdul Rehman Geelani has also called on the NHRC "to take whatever steps you can to ensure that the Shiv Sena does not interfere in Mr. Geelani's right to a fair trial, which includes the right to a lawyer of his choice".

The human rights lawyer, Nandita Haksar, writing on behalf of the defence committee, asked that Mr. Geelani be provided basic amenities in jail.

He has been denied access to the jail library and the use of a radio while "prisoners with more political clout are allowed to have their own cable TVs".

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