Salem to move Lisbon court to seek ‘justice’

From the minute he entered the court, Abu Salem was in constant dialogue with his lawyers to put forth his point. Compared to other convicts, Salem was rather boisterous on the day his fate hanged in balance. He was calm and composed after hearing the lifetime punishment awarded to him by the special court. This calmness was obvious as he had by then, planned to approach the Lisbon Court and challenge his conviction and the lifer.

Salem, who was extradited from Portugal in 2005 after signing a treaty, which has somehow proven to become a ‘boon’ for the former gangster. According to this treaty and the orders passed by a Lisbon Court, Salem cannot be punished for more than 25 years in India, however, with Thursday’s punishment, this gangster has been sentenced to life in two cases.

According to Salem’s advocate Taraq Sayed, they would soon be approaching the European Court and produce a copy of this judgment that has sentenced him for life. “Despite the orders of the Lisbon court of not to punish my client for more than 25 years, the special court has convicted him for life. The special court has held that the treaty (with Portuguese) was with the executive and not the judiciary and with this view in mind, it has gone on to convict and punish my client.

“We have already approached the European court and have challenged the conviction in this case under charges of murder. Now, since the judgment is ready, we are mulling producing its copy in the foreign court. However, it would not be possible for me to specify the date when we would approach the European court,” Sayed added.

On the other hand, special public prosecutor Deepak Salvi, has hailed the punishment for Salem. He said, “Since the special court has clarified that it is not bound by any treaty, it has sentenced Salem for life. So, as of now, we must see it as the lifetime punishment and try not to emphasise the 25 years cap. It would be upon the Union government to take appropriate decision as to whether the 25 years cap needs to be removed or get extended.”