17 Indian men on death row will walk free

The 17 men imprisoned in Sharjah since January 2009 following the murder of a Pakistani man will be walking free soon. The Sharjah Appeals Court on Monday delivered its verdict by sentencing the men to two years imprisonment, following the pardon letter issued by the family members of Misri Nazir Khan.

However, since the men have already completed years in prison, they can be freed anytime following the completion of the documentation process.

Lawyer Bindu Chettar of Mohamed Salman Advocates and Consultants told 'Emirates24|7' that the men could be freed as early as tomorrow. 

The arrested men, all from Punjab in India, had been appealing the death sentence awarded to them by the lower Shariah court and even paid the Dh3.4million in ‘diya’ (blood money) in July to secure their release.
 
The court began proceedings at around 10am and soon issued the verdict. “It was a happy moment for all the arrested men and their family members and they have thanked the efforts of the Indian community members who contributed the diya money,” she added.

The 17 Indian men were arrested following the death of Misri Nazir Khan in the Saaja industrial area of Sharjah in January 2009, following a dispute between two rival gangs involved in bootlegging.

In July, Mohammed Ramzan, holder of the power of attorney of the family of the Nazir Khan received the diya money and signed on the pardon letters on behalf of the family.

Meanwhile, three more men who claim to have been attacked in the original incident have threatened to file a civil case seeking compensation for injury.  Mustaq Ahmed, Shahd Iqbal said Mohammad Nawaz said they were attacked and injured and therefore, should be compensated.

Commenting on the issue Chettar said, “but so far they have not filed any legal suit and they will not be able to do so for another month.”

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