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India Executes Man for 1993 Mumbai Attacks

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Indian policemen guard outside the Nagpur Central Prison, where the 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Abdul Razak Memon was held, in Nagpur, India, Wednesday, July 29, 2015.
Indian policemen guard outside the Nagpur Central Prison, where the 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Abdul Razak Memon was held, in Nagpur, India, Wednesday, July 29, 2015.

India executed Yakub Memon early Thursday for his role in the 1993 Mumbai bombings, which killed 257 people.

The 53-year-old was hanged at a prison in the western city of Nagpur hours after the country's Supreme Court rejected his final pleas.

Memon was one of 11 people originally sentenced to die for the attacks, but the only one actually executed. The others had their sentences changed to life in prison.

He was convicted in 2007 of plotting and financing the bombings that hit multiple sites in Mumbai, including the Bombay Stock Exchange, Air India offices, hotels and a movie theater.

His older brother, Tiger Memon, and gang boss Dawood Ibrahim were the alleged masterminds of the attacks. They remain at large.

Human rights groups criticized India for carrying out the death penalty. Amnesty International called the execution "disheartening."

"This execution will not deliver justice for the 1993 Mumbai blasts," said Aakar Patel, the executive director of Amnesty International India. "It is a misguided attempt to prevent terrorism, and a disappointing use of the criminal justice system as a tool for retribution."

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