INDIA. KASHMIRI MILITANT ON DEATH ROW ASKS PRESIDENT FOR MERCY

Mohammed Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri militant sentenced to death for his role in an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001, appealed to President Abdul Kalam for mercy. Guru gave a 102-page mercy petition to authorities at New Delhi's Tihar jail where he was lodged, saying he wanted to see his son grow up. Guru's hanging, which was due on October 20, was put off after his family asked Kalam for clemency, saying he did not get a fair trial.
In his appeal, Guru said he was encouraged by support from people and by the manner in which the president received his relatives.
Officials said that Guru was moved by how "graciously the President received his wife, son and mother when they met him."
Guru was convicted of plotting the December 13, 2001 raid on the national legislature that left 14 people dead, including the five attackers.