Doubts over conviction of 17 Indians on death row

The case of 17 Indian men on death row took a twist on Monday, when the forensic expert told the Sharjah Court of Appeals on Monday that there was no evidence to link them to the death of a Pakistani last year. Misri Nazir Khan allegedly died as a result of a dispute over alcohol sales. The testimony appeared to cast doubt upon the conviction of the men as well as on the methods used to gather evidence in the case, reported 'The National'. Forensic expert Ayoub Ali said the crime scene had already been sealed off by police when they arrived. The team found torn pieces of clothing and blood, Ali said. They collected blood samples, what remained of the clothes and the body of the victim. Two saloon cars and a pick-up truck were also discovered at the scene. The team was recalled the following day to examine the truck, Ali added. Evaluations of the evidence were completed in less than 10 days and the report found that the victim had died from severe beating to most of his body, especially the head, Ali said. The defence lawyer, Hannah al Shahba, argued: "The way you collected your evidence is not credible at all. You are supposed to prove to us that the evidence collected on the scene matches with the suspects' fingerprints or DNA." Mohammed Salman, another defence lawyer, asked if the lab team had examined the suspects to determine whether any of them had any connection to the clothing or the weapons used in the murder. Ali answered no to both queries. Salman then asked if any fingerprinting or DNA testing had been done on any of the suspects, and Ali again replied no. "Then how do we know that they were the ones who killed?" Judge Mohammed Al Shamsi asked. "We were never asked to conduct any tests on the suspects," Ali replied. "We do only what we have been asked to do." Col Abdul Razzak Asad of Sharjah Police, who supervised the crime scene, was unable to produce images taken at the scene, saying he had not brought them to court. The case is adjourned until November 4.