Spain reduces jail term of Indian terror accused
By IANSWednesday, January 19, 2011
MUMBAI - The Supreme Court of Spain has reduced the jail term of Mumbai-born businessman Roshan Jamal Khan from eight and half years to six years for alleged terror links, his brother said here Wednesday but claimed that the terror charges had been dropped.
The Spanish apex court ruling came in an appeal filed by Roshan Jamal Khan, challenging a lower court verdict of December 2009 that sentenced him to eight and half years, said his brother Mehboob Khan. Terming it a “blatant violation of human rights”, he lamented the Indian government’s silence on the case.
Mehboob Khan claimed that all terror charges against his brother had been dropped quoting the judgement in Spanish but said he did not know on what charges his brother had been sentenced for six years.
Roshan Jamal Khan, 57, was nabbed along with 10 Pakistanis from a mosque in Barcelona Jan 19, 2008, for alleged terror links and has been in custody of the Spanish police since.
Regretting the apex court decision, Mehboob Khan said his brother’s appeal came up for hearing Dec 15, 2010 and lasted barely two hours. The verdict was given Dec 29, during the Christmas vacations and the judgement of 123 pages was given Jan 12 this year.
“It seems that the hearing was just a charade. Everything seems to have been pre-planned. Our lawyer had also hinted to Roshan and us of this sort of judgment and apprehended that political pressure might influence the Supreme Court decision,” alleged Mehboob Khan.
“We are at a loss and just cannot understand the reason behind this conviction,” he said.
He also lamented the silence of the Indian government, the Indian embassy in Spain and the Ministry of External Affairs for its silence on the issue, terming his brother’s case a “clear injustice and blatant violation of human rights”.
He said that after consulting legal advisors in Spain, the family would soon decide the further course of action to secure justice and Roshan Jamal Khan’s release.
Mehboob Khan added that the 14-and-a-half year sentence slapped on the other accused had also been reduced to six years and the terror charges, including possession of explosives and conspiracy, were dropped.
