Three life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case have written to the Special Public Prosecutor for Human Rights Court in Chennai seeking an early release by describing themselves as 'political prisoners.'
Special Public Prosecutor V Kannadasan told PTI Tuesday that he would forward the letter written by S Jayakumar, Robert Payas (both Sri Lankans) and P Ravichandran, along with his views, to the prime minister, President and the National Human Rights Commission. He, however, did not disclose what he would be recommending.
In their letter,the prisoners claimed that their pleas for premature release had been rejected due to reasons extraneous to jail rule provisions. They also said a state government order dated July 18, 2007, which denied them early release, did not specify the jurisdiction of the Centre and it had been issued without consulting the Centre.
Appreciating the efforts of Kannadasan in highlighting the human rights violation of convicts in prisons, they said they were in prison for the last 17 years and their conduct in prison had been good.
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The three were found guilty along with Nalini, Murugan, Santhan and A G Perarivalan in the case.
Their letter followed the recent petition by Nalini in the Madras High Court seeking early release. Her death sentence was commuted to life following Congress President Sonia Gandhi's intervention after Nalini deliverd a baby girl at the Vellore prison.Priyanka Vadra had met Nalini in the prison in March.
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