NEW DELHI, July 9: The trial of four suspects named in the Dec 13 attack on the Indian parliament opened this week in New Delhi amid fears expressed by the Amnesty International that the proceedings under the draconian anti-terror laws so far were flawed and abused the rights of the accused to defend themselves, lawyers said on Tuesday.

They said that in an open letter to Law Minister Jana Krishnamurthy about the trial of Abdul Rehman Geelani and three others, Amnesty expressed concern “that international standards for fair trial may be disregarded” in the forthcoming hearings regarding the four persons charged with various crimes relating to the attack on the parliament on Dec 13 last year. In the letter, AI Secretary General Irene Khan expressed concern that pre-trial proceedings appeared to have been flawed.

“The scheduling of hearings of the trial indicates that the speed at which the trial is to be conducted may violate the defendants’ right to present a full defence. Moreover, the special legislation under which the accused are to be tried is flawed and likely to facilitate an unfair trial,” she said.

While acknowledging the obligation of states to uphold law and order and to protect their populations from violent criminal acts, such as the attack on the Indian parliament, Amnesty International is concerned that in this context human rights protection is all too often relegated to second place, the letter said.

“In particular, the organization is concerned that the accused could be sentenced to death if found guilty of the crimes with which they are charged. The organization opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life,” the Amnesty said.

In her letter, Ms Irene Khan points to the case of Abdul Rehman Geelani as an example of the willingness of those working in the criminal justice system to suspend even minimum safeguards available under special anti-terrorist legislation _ itself grossly defective.