India executes man convicted in 1993 bombings
[JURIST] Yakub Memon, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bombings, was executed by hanging on Thursday at the Nagpur Central Jail. Memon's case has divided India, with many criticizing the decision to execute [Times of India (TOI) report] him. Former India Supreme Court [official website] judge Markandey Katju criticized [JURIST report] the decision earlier this week. Katju called it a "gross travesty of justice" that Memon was convicted on weak evidence, citing the police's affinity for planting evidence and using torture to gain confessions. Fearing public unrest, Mumbai has tightened security [TOI report] in light of the execution, particularly in the areas where Memon's family resides.
Yakub Memon has been in prison since 1994, when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) [official website] purportedly arrested him in Kathmandu. Sources in the Mumbai Police department said he had returned voluntarily. In July 2007 an Indian court sentenced [JURIST report] Memon to death for orchestrating the attacks that spread havoc throughout the city and included a horrific attack on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Memon is the brother of the attack mastermind "Tiger" Memon who currently remains at large. In March 2013 the Indian Supreme Court upheld [JURIST report] Memon's death sentence. The court, in upholding the sentence, found that his actions were "carried out with utter disregard to human life and dignity" which justifies the rare imposition of the death penalty.
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