SWITZERLAND, May 11: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hold a public hearing on May 15 in the case pertaining to the conviction of Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav, a press release issued by the United Nation’s judicial body on Wednesday evening said.
Earlier this week, India moved the ICJ against Pakistan, accusing the latter of violating the Vienna Convention in the case of the Indian spy, who was handed a death sentence by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) last month.
The May 15 hearing will be conducted in two phases with the ICJ hearing India’s observations in the first phase and Pakistan’s observations in the second, the ICJ’s press release said.
The hearing, which will be conducted at the Peace Palace in The Hague, will be streamed live, the statement by the ICJ further noted.
In an application filed in the ICJ on Monday, India stated that Pakistan has repeatedly denied consular access to Yadav.
India also alleged that “it was not informed of Yadav’s detention until long after his arrest,” and learned about the death sentence through the media.
India requested the ICJ to ensure that Yadav’s death sentence is suspended and declared a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
Seeking to restrain Pakistan from “giving effect to the sentence,” India asked the ICJ to direct Pakistan “to take steps to annul the decision of the military court”.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that Pakistan is reviewing the move by India to approach the ICJ regarding the Yadavcase.
Yadav was arrested on March 3, 2016, through a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan’s Mashkel area for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan. He was sentenced to death by the FGCM in April this year.-Agencies
