Bangladesh SC upholds execution of 1971 Liberation war criminal
12 Dec 2013 11:27 PM IST
The execution of Abdul Quader Mollah, which had been on hold since Tuesday night just before he was to be put to death, is likely to usher in a new wave of political violence ahead of national elections next month. His party, Jamaat-e-Islami, an ally of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has warned of 'dire consequences' if he is executed.
Attorney general Mahbubey Alam said the government will now decide when the execution takes place. 'There are no more barriers to execute Quader Mollah. There is no chance of any confusion,' he said.
Mollah, 65, was convicted of war crimes committed during the nation's war of independence against Pakistan in 1971. His lawyers tried to convince the Supreme Court, which began hearing the case on Wednesday, to throw out the sentence.
'My client has been deprived of fair justice. But since the highest court has made the decision we have nothing more to say,' defence lawyer Khandaker Mahbub Hossain said.
It was not immediately clear if an announcement will precede the execution.
AKM SHamsul Islam, an official of the supreme court, said the justices on Thursday forwarded the court decision to authorities.
The developments come at a time of deep tension in Bangladesh, a nation struggling to overcome extreme poverty and rancorous politics.
Security officials opened fire to disperse opposition activists in eastern Bangladesh, leaving at least three people dead and 15 others wounded, Dhaka's leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper reported.
The chaos broke out in Laxmipur district, 96 kilometers (60 miles) east of Dhaka, during a nationwide opposition blockade after elite security forces raided and searched the home of an opposition leader, the daily reported.
Mollah would be the first person executed in special trials begun by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010 of people suspected of crimes during the war of independence. The government says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women during the nine-month war.
Most of the defendants are opposition members. Mollah's party and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party say the trials are an attempt to weaken the opposition and eliminate Islamic parties. Authorities have denied the allegations.
Asif Munier, son of a university teacher who was killed in 1971 for supporting independence, said he was happy with the decision.
'Yes, we are happy because justice has been served ... It's not about any revenge but for justice,' Munier told Associated Press immediately after the decision came from the supreme court.
Carrying out the execution would complicate an already critical political situation in Bangladesh, where the opposition has carried out violent protests for weeks to back a demand for an independent caretaker government to oversee the general elections set for January 5.
The government has rejected that demand and said a political government headed by Hasina would conduct the elections, although the opposition alliance led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia plans to boycott the vote. Weeks of blockades and general strikes have left nearly 100 people dead since October.
Mollah was found guilty by the special tribunal in February of killing a student and a family of 11 and of aiding Pakistani troops in killing 369 others during the independence war. He was sentenced to life in prison, but the supreme court changed that to a death sentence in September.
Attorney general Mahbubey Alam said the government will now decide when the execution takes place. 'There are no more barriers to execute Quader Mollah. There is no chance of any confusion,' he said.
Mollah, 65, was convicted of war crimes committed during the nation's war of independence against Pakistan in 1971. His lawyers tried to convince the Supreme Court, which began hearing the case on Wednesday, to throw out the sentence.
'My client has been deprived of fair justice. But since the highest court has made the decision we have nothing more to say,' defence lawyer Khandaker Mahbub Hossain said.
It was not immediately clear if an announcement will precede the execution.
AKM SHamsul Islam, an official of the supreme court, said the justices on Thursday forwarded the court decision to authorities.
The developments come at a time of deep tension in Bangladesh, a nation struggling to overcome extreme poverty and rancorous politics.
Security officials opened fire to disperse opposition activists in eastern Bangladesh, leaving at least three people dead and 15 others wounded, Dhaka's leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper reported.
The chaos broke out in Laxmipur district, 96 kilometers (60 miles) east of Dhaka, during a nationwide opposition blockade after elite security forces raided and searched the home of an opposition leader, the daily reported.
Mollah would be the first person executed in special trials begun by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010 of people suspected of crimes during the war of independence. The government says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women during the nine-month war.
Most of the defendants are opposition members. Mollah's party and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party say the trials are an attempt to weaken the opposition and eliminate Islamic parties. Authorities have denied the allegations.
Asif Munier, son of a university teacher who was killed in 1971 for supporting independence, said he was happy with the decision.
'Yes, we are happy because justice has been served ... It's not about any revenge but for justice,' Munier told Associated Press immediately after the decision came from the supreme court.
Carrying out the execution would complicate an already critical political situation in Bangladesh, where the opposition has carried out violent protests for weeks to back a demand for an independent caretaker government to oversee the general elections set for January 5.
The government has rejected that demand and said a political government headed by Hasina would conduct the elections, although the opposition alliance led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia plans to boycott the vote. Weeks of blockades and general strikes have left nearly 100 people dead since October.
Mollah was found guilty by the special tribunal in February of killing a student and a family of 11 and of aiding Pakistani troops in killing 369 others during the independence war. He was sentenced to life in prison, but the supreme court changed that to a death sentence in September.
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