Sarabjeet's counsel 'blows holes' in conviction, calls for immediate revocation of death sentence

Islamabad -  Highlighting flaws in trial of alleged Indian spy Sarabeet Singh, counsel advocate Awais Sheikh has demanded that the death sentence of the prisoner be commuted to  a life term.

Sheikh said that the court had overlooked many flaws in Singh's trial to award a death penalty sentence.

While addressing a press conference, Sheikh complained that despite the presence of flaws, his client was not given the benefit of doubt, as is done in the cases of most local prisoners.

According to the Express Tribune, the advocate said that Singh's case was pertaining to 'mistaken identity' and he was also presented before the courts by the intelligence agencies under  the alias name Manjeet Singh, who was originally accused of the terrorism acts.

Pointing to the fact that the Lahore High Court, while deciding his appeal against the death sentence, had ruled that "name makes no difference and it is enough that he has confessed his  crime", Sheikh said that Singh had never been brought before a magistrate and had never confessed to his crime before any court of law or any investigation agency.

He added Singh had been made to confess his crime before a television camera, which has no legal value, and a confessional document which wasn't signed by Singh, but rather carried fake

signatures.

Sheikh also denied charges that his client had been trained to prepare bombs, plant explosives or had held a Pakistani national identity card, which bore the pseudonym Khushi Muhammad,

son of Allah Bakhsh, and alleged that the card was surreptitiously prepared by Major Abbas, a prosecution witness in the case.

Denying the allegations of fake identification evidences being recovered from Singh at the time of his arrest, Sheikh claimed that the prosecution's story was concocted, with Manjeet Singh,

who was originally accused for the terror charges, and arrested on August 31, 1990, subsequently being released by the military.

Sheikh alleged that Sarabjeet Singh had been treated discriminately by the Supreme Court and demanded to review the petition against his death sentence.