Kasab meets his new lawyers

MUMBAI: Locked in a high-security prison cell and facing the gallows, convicted Pakistani gunman Ajmal Amir Kasab seems anxious about filing an appeal to challenge the death sentence awarded to him.
When his new lawyers, Amin Solkar and Farhana Shah, met him at the Arthur Road jail for the first time on Saturday, Kasab told them that he would like certain facilities that are given to convicts.
"We had gone to collect a copy of the judgment and requested the prison authorities to meet Kasab to inform him that we will be fighting his appeal," Solkar told TOI.
The two lawyers were closeted in a meeting with Kasab that lasted 20 minutes in the waiting room below the prison cell. Kasab was handcuffed and surrounded by guards and the jailor.
Kasab seemed anxious and seemed to be keeping tabs on the progress of his case as it makes its way through the Indian judicial process. "Kasab asked us how long it will take to file the appeal challenging his conviction," the advocate said.
"Kasab was dressed in a uniform meant for convicts and seemed calm," said Solkar. The man, held guilty of killing over 166 persons with his associates on November 26, 2008, kept his eyes fixed to the ground throughout the meeting, except for a few quick glances at his new lawyers.
Kasab, who spoke to his lawyers in Urdu, asked them to seek facilities for him that are meant for convicts. Solkar refused to divulge the requests as he is yet to file an application in the Bombay high court.
It may take at least a month to file the appeal, the lawyers said. "Though we have been given a copy of the judgment, we are yet to receive other documents, which are necessary to file an appeal," said Shah, who was appointed to assist Solkar in the case.
Both lawyers were appointed by the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority following a request sent by Kasab through jail, seeking the appointment of a lawyer to represent him and file an appeal as he could not afford an advocate.