Indian Lawyer Wants Justice for Terror Suspect
Only Indian lawyer to take the case may be risking his life.
Dec. 17, 2008— -- The only person charged in the terror attack that gripped Mumbai, India, for days and left 171 people dead finally may have legal representation after more than two weeks in police custody.
Mumbai-based lawyer Kaikhushru Lam said he submitted paperwork Monday to represent alleged Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab.
Lam said he was inspired to volunteer when he read in Indian newspapers that no one would represent Kasab. He said his friends have warned him against taking the case, fearing that harm will come to him and his family.
"'You have a 97-year-old mother, don't be selfish, think of her life,'" Lam said his friends implored him. But, he told ABC News, "We can't be affected. We've got to do what we think is right, and justice will see us through."
So far, he said, he has not received any threats.
Until Lam stepped forward Monday, no Indian lawyer had agreed to take the case. Many cited nationalism and fear of retaliation if they agreed to represent Kasab, the sole captured gunman in last month's Mumbai attacks in which 171 people were killed and more than 230 injured.
Prominent India lawyer Dinesh Mota said his "Indian constitution" prevented him from accepting a legal aid group's call for his support.
"I heard only my inner voice and inner value," he said. "That is why I took the decision that I should not represent."
But Lam, a mathematician-turned-lawyer, said the reason for his decision is twofold: to bring Kasab to justice in order to serve all of India, and to ensure that all humans receive a fair trial.
"Every single human being should be entitled to a fair defense," he said.
Lam said that by representing Kasab, he will help bring justice to Indians.
"If he doesn't want to defend himself and he wants a lawyer to defend him and can't get a lawyer, then no trial will take place and he has to be acquitted," he said.
Lam has a private law firm in Mumbai. He said his friends joke that his law focuses on "underdogs and dogs" as much of his practice deals with medical injustice, animal welfare and the rights of arrestees and prisoners.
