INDIA – The top United Nations court ordered Pakistan to review the death penalty handed down to an Indian Navy officer convicted of spying.
Pakistan violated the international law by denying India consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled.
Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in Pakistan in March 2016 and sentenced to death by a military court a year later.
The Hague-based ICJ ruled that Pakistan had failed to inform Jadhav of his rights, and deprived the Indian government “of the right to communicate with and have access to (him), to visit him in detention and to arrange for his legal representation.”
“A continued stay of execution constitutes an indispensible condition for the effective review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence,” it added.
This case is a huge deal in Pakistan, where it’s seen as evidence that India is supporting militant separatist groups in places like Balochistan province.(BBC)