India’s prime anti-terrorism investigation company has as soon as once more requested the demise sentence for Muhammad Yasin Malik, a outstanding Kashmiri independence chief. Malik, who’s 57 years previous and serves because the chief of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Entrance (JKLF), was sentenced to life imprisonment final 12 months in a case associated to terror funding. This determination got here after he refused to just accept a government-appointed lawyer and declined to defend himself in opposition to the fees.
The Nationwide Investigation Company (NIA) had beforehand appealed for the demise penalty, however the court docket rejected their plea, stating that capital punishment ought to solely be reserved for crimes that “shock the collective consciousness” of society. Nevertheless, the NIA has now filed a contemporary petition with the Excessive Courtroom in New Delhi, looking for a demise sentence for Malik. The listening to for this petition is scheduled to happen on Monday.
Yasin Malik has an extended historical past of imprisonment, having spent a complete of 14 years in jail the place he claims to have been subjected to torture. In 2018, he was lastly arrested, simply months earlier than New Delhi revoked the particular standing of the Indian-administered area of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in a months-long lockdown and communication blockade.