Indian court convicts four over parliament raid

An Indian anti-terrorism court has convicted four people over last December's attack on parliament that almost triggered a war…

An Indian anti-terrorism court has convicted four people over last December's attack on parliament that almost triggered a war with Pakistan.

Three of those found guilty, including an Arabic lecturer, were charged with attempting to kill the prime minister, the interior minister and lawmakers by helping the attackers prepare for the raid. They face the death penalty.

Five gunmen stormed India's parliament complex on December 13th last year and killed nine people, most of them security guards, before they were shot dead.

India blamed Pakistan for the attack and the nuclear-armed neighbours mobilised their armies along the border.

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Police say two of those found guilty are members of the Pakistan-based guerrilla group Jaish-e-Mohammad fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir. The two, Mohammad Afzal and Shaukat Hussain, were picked up by police in Srinagar, summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state, two days after the attack.

Hussain's wife, Navjot Sandhu, and the lecturer, Abdul Rehman Geelani, were arrested in New Delhi the same day.

All four pleaded not guilty. But police said the three men confessed to their involvement while in custody and the confession was produced as evidence in the court under a special anti-terrorism law.

Three others have been charged over the raid but remain at large.