11th Hour Appeal against unjust execution
Shahid King | 20.01.2014 16:58 | Anti-racism | Repression | Social Struggles
this is an urgent appeal for all anti-death penalty activists and those who care about justice, to take action against an atrocious miscarriage of justice in the United Arab Emirates. A Sri Lankan National will be taken before the firing squad tomorrow morning (January 21) over the accidental death of a man who tried to rape him. The deceased's family refuses to renounce retaliation just to cover up the shame of the events which led up to the fatal incident.
Ravinda Krishna Pillai will be executed in the UAE tomorrow morning (Tuesday 21 January), in what is a massive miscarriage of justice.
An Emirati man tried to rape Ravinda, but he fled and accidentally hit the assailant with his car, and the man died.
Ravinda was charged with homicide, and sentenced to death (without a lawyer), and he will be taken before the firing squad in the morning.
As a Sri Lankan Tamil, Ravinda's whole life has been struggle and hardship. As a child he was abducted by the Tamil Tigers and forced to work as a servant until he was old enough to be a soldier. Once he reached fighting age, Ravinda fled the Tigers, and was marked as a deserter, and his life was at risk. He ran away to the UAE, hoping to have a better life, and a way to still support his family from abroad.
He was employed by an Emirati family, and everything was going well for the first time in his life.
One day a friend of his sponsor visited and took a liking to Ravinda, and asked him to come to his ranch to do some maintenance work. Ravinda did not suspect the man's motives, as similar things had happened in the past with other family friends of his employer.
However, once Ravinda arrived at the man's ranch, he was shocked to find the man in one of the buildings completely undressed and carrying a sexual lubricant, calling Ravinda to come to him. Ravinda tried to run, but the man chased him. They struggled and Ravinda broke away and fled, taking refuge in the man's SUV. Though he was unfamiliar with the vehicle, the keys were in the ignition so he tried to drive away. The Emirati assailant tried to block the way, and ended up getting hit by the SUV, causing his death.
Ravinda was arrested and charged with PREMEDITATED murder! He was convicted in a farcical trial without access to a lawyer or translation of the proceedings, and sentenced to death.
Tomorrow he will be taken before the firing squad.
We ask anyone who reads this to please watch the video and send an SMS to the rulers of the UAE (numbers are listed at the end of the clip), asking them to pardon Ravinda and halt the execution before it is too late.
An Emirati man tried to rape Ravinda, but he fled and accidentally hit the assailant with his car, and the man died.
Ravinda was charged with homicide, and sentenced to death (without a lawyer), and he will be taken before the firing squad in the morning.
As a Sri Lankan Tamil, Ravinda's whole life has been struggle and hardship. As a child he was abducted by the Tamil Tigers and forced to work as a servant until he was old enough to be a soldier. Once he reached fighting age, Ravinda fled the Tigers, and was marked as a deserter, and his life was at risk. He ran away to the UAE, hoping to have a better life, and a way to still support his family from abroad.
He was employed by an Emirati family, and everything was going well for the first time in his life.
One day a friend of his sponsor visited and took a liking to Ravinda, and asked him to come to his ranch to do some maintenance work. Ravinda did not suspect the man's motives, as similar things had happened in the past with other family friends of his employer.
However, once Ravinda arrived at the man's ranch, he was shocked to find the man in one of the buildings completely undressed and carrying a sexual lubricant, calling Ravinda to come to him. Ravinda tried to run, but the man chased him. They struggled and Ravinda broke away and fled, taking refuge in the man's SUV. Though he was unfamiliar with the vehicle, the keys were in the ignition so he tried to drive away. The Emirati assailant tried to block the way, and ended up getting hit by the SUV, causing his death.
Ravinda was arrested and charged with PREMEDITATED murder! He was convicted in a farcical trial without access to a lawyer or translation of the proceedings, and sentenced to death.
Tomorrow he will be taken before the firing squad.
We ask anyone who reads this to please watch the video and send an SMS to the rulers of the UAE (numbers are listed at the end of the clip), asking them to pardon Ravinda and halt the execution before it is too late.
Shahid King
e-mail:
shahidkingbolsen@gmail.com
Homepage:
www.detainedindubai.org