The suspect captured during Novembers Mumbai attacks asked an Indian court Wednesday to provide him with a Pakistani defence lawyer, a request denied by the trial judge. Mohammed Ajmal Kasab made the request after the judge sacked his state-appointed lawyer because of a conflict of interest.
In a brief afternoon hearing before the high-profile trial was adjourned until Thursday, judge M.L. Tahaliyani said the Indian legal system "will do whatever we can that is legally right." "Pakistan can assist you to find you a lawyer, but he would have to be from here," the judge said in response to Kasabs request, adding that the Indian government would communicate to Pakistan the appeal for legal aid.
"We need to give a just and fair trial to Kasab, and it is necessary to appoint a lawyer who can handle a case of this nature properly and with due diligence," the judge told the court. The dismissal of Kasabs defence lawyer threw the trial into disarray moments after it opened in Mumbai.
The 21-year-old Kasab faces a string of charges including "waging war" on India, murder, attempted murder and kidnapping. He faces the death penalty if convicted of taking part in the November 2008 rampage of killing in Indias financial capital, which saw 10 gunmen land in the city by boat and murder more than 160 people.