Abbas Kazmi (born 18 May 1955) is a criminal lawyer who received wide media coverage for representing

Ajmal Kasab Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab (13 July 1987 – 21 November 2012) was a Pakistani terrorist and a member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba Islamism, Islamist Islamic terrorism, fighter organization, through which he took part in the 2008 Mumbai atta ...

, the prime accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. He was a participant in

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...

Biography

Kazmi first came to Mumbai as an aspiring actor and worked in a few films such as ''Anjaan Rahen'', with

Feroz Khan Feroz Khan or Feroze Khan may refer to: * Feroz Khan (actor) (1939–2009), Indian actor and film director * Feroz Khan Noon (1893–1970), Pakistani politician and 8th Prime Minister of Pakistan * Feroze Khan (born 1990), Pakistani VJ, television ...

and

Asha Parekh Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is a retired Indian actress, film director, and producer who appeared in many commercially successful films throughout her career. She was the highest paid actress of her time and was one of the most successful ...

, and ''Jugnoo'', with

Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first " He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...

and

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...

. He found little success in acting and so decided to go into law practice. After graduating in 1980 from K.C. College, Mumbai, Kazmi moved to

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

, Saudi Arabia. There he worked as a financial advisor. He moved back to Mumbai in 1993 and soon represented several suspects in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case. Other clients of his include

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; translation: ''Socialist Party'', founded 4 October 1992) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India, headquartered in New Delhi but mainly based in Uttar Pradesh, with significant presence in other states as w ...

leader

Abu Asim Azmi Abu Asim Azmi (born 8 August 1955) is a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He represents the Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Constituency, Mumbai. He belongs to the Samajwadi Party. He is the President of the Maharashtra state branch of ...

and suspects in the case of

Gulshan Kumar Gulshan Kumar Dua (5 May 1951 12 August 1997), was an Indian businessman, film and music producer who was the founder of the Super Cassettes Industries Limited (T-Series) music label in the Bollywood industry. He founded T-Series in the 1980s ...

's murder. Kazmi was married in 1985. He has two daughters and one son. The name of his children are Anna, Samah and Ali.

2008 Mumbai attack case

In April 2009, Kazmi was appointed as the

defence lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various jur ...

in the trial of the main accused in the Mumbai attack, Kasab. The previously appointed lawyer, Anjali Waghmare, was removed from the case due to conflict of interest: she was also representing a victim in the same case. Kasab had asked for Pakistani lawyers to represent him at his trial, but a lack of response from Pakistani officials and the resulting delay resulted in Kazmi's appointment. In various interviews, Kazmi made his position clear by saying that he will defend his client to perform his professional duty sincerely. During the case proceedings, Kazmi tried explaining to Kasab the seriousness of the case against him. Kazmi stated: "I tried explaining it to him including the extent of the punishment he faces but he failed to see the gravity of the situation". Kazmi was provided police security during the trial. On 6 May 2010, Kasab was sentenced to death by the court; on 21 February 2011,

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the ol ...

upheld the sentence given by the trial court. Kasab appealed the Bombay High Court's decision in the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

in October 2011. He claimed at this point that he had been "brainwashed like a robot o commit the actin the name of Allah". Kazmi, however, had dismissed this theory during the trial. According to an American diplomatic cable exposed by

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...

, during Kasab's trial a US diplomat had asked Kazmi to build a case based on a

brainwashing Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwash ...

plea. The unnamed diplomat suggested to the attorney that he call Kasab's parents in Pakistan as witnesses to the assertion. Kazmi declined the request on the basis that there was no money for travel arrangements for Kasab's parents. He also said, "I am an Indian citizen. I am not going to contact anyone in Pakistan."

Bigg Boss

Kazmi appeared in season 4 of the reality show ''Bigg Boss'', the Indian version of '' Big Brother''. He was eliminated in the first week.

Television

References

External links