Kasab's execution reignite call to abolish death penalty

The hanging of Ajmal Amir Kasab on Wednesday morning has once again brought to the fore questions of India joining those countries that have abolished death penalty.

The execution of Kasab for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks undoes much of the progress India has made over the death penalty, Amnesty International said.

"Today's executions means India has taken a significant step backwards and joined that minority of countries that are still executing," said VK Shashikumar, Programmes Head at Amnesty International India.

Kasab, the Pakistani terrorist involved in the November 26-29, 2008 terror attack in which 166 persons were killed, was hanged to death at Yerawada jail in Pune. His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court on August 29 2012, and his mercy petition was rejected by the President on November 5.

The more than 80 charges he was found guilty of, included committing acts of terrorism and criminal conspiracy to commit murder.

"We recognize the gravity of the crimes for which Ajmal Kasab was convicted, and sympathise with the victims of these acts and their families, but the death penalty is the ultimate cruel and inhuman form of punishment," said Shashikumar.

"We are also deeply disconcerted both by the unusual speed with which his mercy petition was rejected, as well as the secrecy that surrounded his execution."

New York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) Wednesday said the hanging of Kasab marks a concerning end to the country's moratorium on capital punishment.

"Instead of resorting to the use of execution to address heinous crime, India should join the rising ranks of nations that have taken the decision to remove the death penalty from their legal frameworks," said HRW South Asia Director Meenakshi Ganguly.

Kasab's death on Wednesday was the first time a capital sentence had been carried out in India since 2004.

The resumption of executions in India comes just two days after the UN General Assembly's (UNGA) Human Rights Committee adopted a draft resolution calling for a global moratorium on the death penalty, with a view to completely abolishing it.

India was among the 39 countries that had opposed the resolution, which was adopted after 110 nations voted in its favour on November 19.

The non-binding resolution calls on nations to progressively restrict the death penalty's use and not impose capital punishment for offences committed by persons under age 18 or pregnant women.

Clarifying its stand, India earlier said each state had the sovereign right to determine its own legal system.

"In India, the death penalty is exercised in the 'rarest of rare' cases, where the crime committed is so heinous as to shock the conscience of society," said Amit Kumar, Indian counsellor to the UN.

India, along with the United States, China and Japan, is among the 58 nations which uphold the death penalty. Nearly 140 countries have abolished the same.

According to Amnesty, in 2010, more than 2,000 people were executed in China, followed by 252-plus in Iran, 60-plus in North Korea, 53-plus in Yemen, 46 in USA and 27-plus in Saudi Arabia.