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Pakistan to begin trial of 5 Mumbai terror attack suspects

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Pakistan has completed its probe into in last November's terror attacks in Mumbai and will likely begin trying next week five men arrested in connection with the attacks, Pakistan's Minister of the Interior Rehman Malik announced Saturday. Malik named Zaki-ur-Rahman Lahkvi, one of the men to stand trial, as the commander in the attacks. Lahkvi is the head of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the group suspected of planning and coordinating the attacks. Malik praised Pakistani investigators for the speed with which they conducted the investigation. India has accused Pakistan of proceeding too slowly in its investigation, but Malik asserted that if either country was acting too slowly it was India. Thirteen other men were announced as proclaimed offenders by Malik for their roles in the terror attacks, and Malik urged Pakistanis to help find these men so they could be tried. In June, India issued an arrest warrant for Lahkvi, but Pakistan announced it would not hand over any of its citizens and would try them in Pakistan. In May, Pakistani citizen Mohammed Ajmal Kasab pleaded not guilty to involvement with the Mumbai attacks. Two Indian defendants linked to LeT also pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges related to the charges against Kasab. In February, Pakistani officials conceded that the attacks were partially planned in their country. Pakistan also stated that the perpetrators traveled by ship from southern Pakistan to Mumbai, where they launched the attack from inflatable boats using outboard engines purchased in Karachi, Pakistan. One scholar suggested that an international tribunal be formed to prosecute persons involved in Mumbai attacks in order to avoid further complications to the already unstable relationship between Pakistan and India. The attacks in Mumbai, which claimed at least 170 lives, were carried out at ten locations across the city including the landmark Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 11, 2009 (boomark / email).