Advocate pleads for Mumbai attacker

MUMBAI, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The counsel for the lone surviving gunman involved in the 2008 Mumbai massacre told India's Supreme Court his client didn't get a fair trial.

Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran said Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, 24, was not part of the larger conspiracy that was waging war against India and does not deserve to die, the Press Trust of India reported Tuesday.

A special petition filed on behalf of Kasab challenges his conviction on grounds he was brainwashed into committing crimes in the name of God and does not deserve capital punishment because of his young age.

Ramachandran told the court the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that Kasab's right against self-incrimination and adequate representation was violated during this trial.

Kasab's death sentence was stayed in October and he is currently being held at Mumbai's Arthur Road prison.

He was charged with taking part in a 2008 shooting spree that left more than 166 people dead and many more wounded in India's financial capital.

Nine other Pakistanis involved in the attacks were killed.