Kin of bizman held in Spain await verdict

Khan Roshan Jamal

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: The family of Khan Roshan Jamal, the 52-year-old city businessman who has been detained in a Spanish jail since January 2008, has expressed its dissatisfaction over a Spanish court’s announcement that it would hand over the verdict to the Spanish government. His trial was concluded within six working days in November.

Jamal, a St Xavier’s College graduate, went to Spain in January 2008; his family said he wanted to meet some contacts for his olive business. But he was picked up with 14 others from Al-Ziyad Mosque in Barcelona on January 18 last year. The Spanish police told a local court they were nabbed as their activities were suspicious. Jamal’s family, however, has been insisting that he is innocent. Even the CBI and the Maharashtra ATS have cleared him of terror charges in India.

In a letter to the ministry of external affairs (MEA), Farida Khan, Jamal’s wife, stated, “The trial of my husband by the Spanish court that was supposed to be held from November 12 to November 30, was aborted in six working days. This raises doubts over the trial being fair.’’ The letter further stated that the prosecution couldn’t provide any concrete evidence against her husband to the court.

“It has generalised the charges and held him on charges of associating with terrorists, based on the fantasy of a wannabe James Bond,’’ Farida stated in her letter.

Jamal continues to languish at a jail in Leon. Jamal is the second among six siblings and has worked with a tourism firm and a detective agency, besides a fiveyear stint in Kuwait as a tourism officer.

Farida said in the letter, “The court has transferred the responsibility of delivering the verdict to the Spanish government. This proves that the Spanish judiciary is not independent, which is dangerous for the administration of justice.’’

Jamal’s brother, Mehboob, said, “We have been sending letters to the MEA, but they have not replied so far. If Shah Rukh Khan is detained at a foreign airport for two hours, the union government issues a statement. The government also speaks for Sarabjit who is now in a Pakistani jail. Why are not they speaking about my brother?’’
The family has sent a file to the United Nation’s human rights wing.
mateen.hafeez@timesgroup.com

The Times of India, December 10, 2009