Green MEP for London, Jean Lambert has called upon the Government of India to repeal the death sentence imposed on former teacher Devender Pal Singh following his conviction in a trial considered by many to be unfair relating to a 1993 bomb attack in Delhi [1].<\/p>\n
The European Parliament has passed an urgent motion urging the Indian government to commute the death sentence and to take the initial legislative steps to deliver a permanent moratorium on executions with the goal of abolishing the death penalty in the near future.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the vote, Jean said: “Devender was tortured into making a false confession and was denied a fair trial.\u00a0 He must now be released without charge or face new fair trials in accordance with internationally accepted standards.”<\/strong><\/p>\n Notes to Editors<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Police claim that Devender Pal Singh made a statement confessing to involvement in the bomb attack which left nine people dead, a statement which he subsequently withdrew. In August 2001, with the retracted confession as the sole evidence against him, he was convicted of committing a terrorist attack and sentenced to death.<\/p>\n Devender had no access to a lawyer during his initial detention – the period in which the police claim he made a detailed confession of his involvement in the conspiracy to carry out the bomb attack.\u00a0 Under international law, the execution of a person sentenced to death in an unfair trial is a violation to the right to life.<\/p>\n For further information, please visit: http:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/library\/asset\/ASA20\/033\/2011\/en\/344624f3-ba0a-4171-b892-a13bf8f17c53\/asa200332011en.html<\/a><\/p>\n