SC Bangladesh upheld death sentence of Mohammad Kamaruzzaman
Syeda Munawara Qazi
Dhaka, Bangladesh: The Supreme Court of Bangladesh has upheld the decision of death sentence of Mohammad Kamaruzzaman while rejecting his last review petition.
Mohammad Kamaruzzaman is accused of committing atrocities during the 1971 Bangladeshi independence war against forces of Pakistan. The 62-year-old Mohammad Kamaruzzaman can go for clemency by the president but there is no chance for pardon from Presidential office.
Pakistan will react over this decision because Pakistan believes that cases against pro-Pakistan politicians and their hangings are victimization by courts instead of providing justice to such political leaders who had been supporting Pakistan Army against Mukti Bhani —the liberation Army of the than East Pakistan.
Mohammad Kamaruzzaman now can be hanged anytime.
The review petition was dismissed by Chief Justice S.K. Sinha of Bangladesh Supreme Court here on Monday morning.
Mohammad Kamaruzzaman was a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh who was sentenced to death in May 2013 by a domestic war crimes court for torture, abduction and murder including a mass killing at a site which has become known as the “Village of Widows”. He was active member of Al Badr brigade of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan that was fighting against Bangladeshis along with the than West Pakistan Army. Al Badr called this war as jihad and massacred thousands of Bangladeshi, mostly Hindus during 7 months standoff in former East Pakistan (Now called as Bangladesh).
Mohammad Kamaruzzaman submitted appeal court in Supreme Court in November 2014 against special war crime court but his appeal has been rejected after hearing his case. It may be mentioned that Bangladesh already hanged Abdul Quader Molla in December 2013 who was also a member of Al Badr.
A team of lawyers of Kamaruzzaman pleaded that there were “serious discrepancies” in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses at his trial but SC rejected this plea on Monday and upheld the hanging of Kamaruzzaman.
The Bangladeshi Attorney General Mahbubey Alam while talking to foreign news agency said that he would ask Kamaruzzaman whether he would seek clemency from the president.
“If he refuses, he could be hanged any moment,” he said.
AFP news agency reported that the upholding of Kamaruzzaman s execution order could worsen the ongoing unrest in the country, which has been hit by deadly protests over the opposition s bid to topple the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Opposition parties say the war crimes trials are politically-motivated and aimed at settling scores, while rights groups say the trials have fallen short of international standards.
