The Hindu : Front Page : Sarabjit out of death row cell

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Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008
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Sarabjit out of death row cell

Islamabad: Sarabjit Singh, awarded capital punishment in Pakistan, has been shifted from a death row cell to a normal one in a Lahore jail, raising hopes that he might not be executed.

Pakistani TV channel Geo news reported that the move may be an indication that Sarabjit will not be hanged. However, there was no official word in this regard so far.

Sarabjit, whom Pakistani authorities call Manjit Singh, has been on death row since he was convicted for his alleged involvement in four bomb attacks in the Punjab province in 1990 in which 14 people were killed.

Sarabjit’s family, who visited Pakistan this year seeking his release, insists that he was wrongly convicted for the attacks.

His execution, initially set for April 1, was deferred for 30 days by former President Pervez Musharraf. This was done so that the new PPP-led government could review his case following India’s appeal for clemency. After Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani intervened in the matter, Pakistani authorities put off Sarabjit’s execution “till further orders.”

The 42-year-old has already spent 17 years behind bars.

‘A Diwali gift’

“Pakistan has given me a Diwali gift,” said Dalbir Kaur on Tuesday reacting to reports that her brother Sarabjit Singh has been shifted from death row cell to an ordinary cell in a Lahore jail. “Now he can heave a sigh of relief,” Ms. Kaur said in Amritsar. — PTI

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