Mumbai attacks gunman awaits sentencing

An Indian court is due to hear arguments Tuesday over the sentencing of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, who was found guilty of murder and "waging war against India" in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The court will deliver a sentence on Thursday.

By Natacha BUTLER reporting from New Delhi (video)
News Wires (text)

AFP - A Pakistani man who is the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks will be sentenced on Thursday, the judge trying him in a special prison court in the Indian financial capital said Tuesday.

France 24 Special Report: Terror in Mumbai

After hearing arguments about the appropriate penalty for Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, a 22-year-old convicted of murder and waging war on India, judge M.L. Tahaliyani adjourned the court.

He said it would reconvene "the day after tomorrow".

Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam called for the death penalty.

"I told the court he should be given the death penalty and the court reserved its judgement until the day after tomorrow," he told reporters outside the court.

Defence lawyer K. P. Pawar argued that Kasab was completely under the influence of Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity widely seen as a front for the the LeT.

"He was mentally defective (at the time of the attacks) and the effect impaired his ability to appreciate the impact of his conduct," Pawar told the court.

"He's a human being of flesh and blood, that should not be forgotten," Pawar said.