March 1
YEMEN:
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
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For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa05713.pdf
UA: 57/13
Issue Date: 27 February 2013
Country: Yemen
YEMENI MAN AT RISK OF IMMINENT EXECUTION
Yemeni man Muhammad Abdul Karim Muhammad Haza'a continues to be at imminent
risk of death after his
execution was postponed. The Yemeni Attorney General halted his execution to
enable claims that he
was under 18 at the time of his alleged crime to be re-examined and to give him
the opportunity to
reach an agreement with the victim’s family.
Muhammad Abdul Karim Muhammad Haza'a was officially informed on 26 February
that he was to be
executed the following day for the murder of a man that took place in 1999. His
execution was halted
by the Attorney General pending further investigation into his age and
providing an opportunity for
him to reach an agreement with the victim's relatives. The suspension could be
lifted at any time
and as such he remains at imminent risk of execution, and could be executed as
early as 3 March
2013. His age at the time of his alleged crime remains in dispute.
Muhammad Abdul Karim Muhammad Haza'a was initially sentenced to imprisonment
and financial
compensation to be paid to the family of the victim in 2000, by the Court of
First Instance in the
south-western city of Ta'izz. His case then went back and forth between the
Appeal Court and the
Supreme Court. In December 2005, the Appeal Court sentenced him to seven years'
imprisonment in
addition to paying financial compensation. However, the Appeal Court
subsequently sentenced him to
death, considering him to be over 18 at the time of his alleged crime as it
believed the birth
certificate he had submitted – indicating he was 17 years old – was forged. In
2008, the Supreme
Court approved his death sentence; this was subsequently ratified by the Yemeni
President in
December 2012.
Yemeni law prohibits the application of the death penalty to offenders under
the age of 18 at the
time of the crime. In practice however, some courts in Yemen continue to impose
the death penalty on
alleged juvenile offenders – partly because in some parts of Yemen, birth
certificates are not
issued or sought, and because practices of determining age typically fall far
below international
standards. In some cases of murder, the immediate blood relatives of a murdered
person have the
power to seek execution, request diya (financial compensation), or grant a
conditional or
unconditional pardon.
Please write immediately in Arabic, English or your own language:
-Urging the Yemeni authorities to commute Muhammad Abdul Karim Muhammad
Haza'a's death sentence;
-Calling on them to prevent the imposition of the death penalty regardless of
age;
-Calling on the Justice Minister to reactivate the medical examination
committee as a first step
towards a comprehensive reform of the juvenile justice system, in line with UN
Human Rights Council
resolution 19/37 (2012);
-Urging the President to stop ratifying death sentences and establish a
moratorium on all
executions, with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 9 APRIL 2013 TO:
President
His Excellency Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi
Office of the President
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
Fax: 011 967 1 274 147 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Justice
His Excellency Murshed Ali al-Arashani
Ministry of Justice
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
Fax: 011 967 1 222 015 (please keep trying)
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Attorney General
His Excellency Ali Ahmed Nasser al-Awash
Attorney General’s Office
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
Fax: 011 967 1 374 412 (please keep trying)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Ambassador Abdulwahab A. Al Hajjri
Embassy of the Republic of Yemen
2319 Wyoming Ave NW, Washington DC 20008
Ph: 1 202 337 8113 -OR- 1 202 965 4760
Fax: 1 202 337 2017
Email: [email protected]
Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Network office if sending appeals
after the above date.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Amnesty International has longstanding concerns about the use of the death
penalty in Yemen,
particularly as death sentences are often passed after proceedings that fall
short of fair trial. In
2012, a large number of people were sentenced to death and dozens were
executed.
Yemen has made some progress in the legal prohibition of the use of the death
penalty against
juvenile offenders (those convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18
years of age). It
also ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. At the time,
the prohibition of the
use of the death penalty against juveniles was limited to offenders below the
age of 15. However,
this was extended in 1994 to include those below the age of 18 at the time of
their crime. This was
stipulated in Article 31 of the Penal Code, Law 12 of 1994, and marked progress
in bringing Yemen’s
laws into line with both Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and Article 6 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Yemen is
also a state party. Both
treaties categorically prohibit the use of the death penalty against anyone
under 18 years old at
the time any crime is committed. However, in practice some courts in Yemen are
still imposing the
death penalty on defendants who may have been under the age of 18 at the time
of the offense.
Amnesty International is aware of at least 26 people who are possible juvenile
offenders under
sentence of death in Yemen and 200 such people who are at risk of being
sentenced to death.
An official medical examination committee was formed on 16 June 2012 to
determine the age of alleged
juvenile offenders, especially in cases where birth certificates are
unavailable. The medical
committee, which has been supported and funded by UNICEF and the European
Commission, has so far
been unable to carry out effective work, due to a lack of appropriate
legislation or definition of
its status. In February 2013, the Yemeni President ordered the reinstatement of
the medical
examination committee. It was not involved in the case of Muhammad Abdul Karim
Muhammad Haza’a.
Amnesty International calls on governments to apply a full range of appropriate
criteria in cases
where there is dispute about whether an alleged offender was over or under 18
years old at the time
of the offense. Good practice in assessing age includes drawing on knowledge of
physical,
psychological, and social development. Each of these criteria should be applied
in a way that gives
the benefit of the doubt in disputed cases so that the individual is treated as
a juvenile offender
and accordingly that the death penalty is not applied. Such an approach is
consistent with the
principle that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration
in all actions
concerning children, as required by Article 3(1) the Convention on the Rights
of the Child.
UN Human Rights Council resolution 19/37 of 23 March 2012 on Rights of the
Child, urges States, "to
presume children alleged as, accused of or recognized as having infringed the
criminal law to be
under the age of majority when their age is in doubt until such an assumption
is rebutted by the
prosecution, and to treat the accused as a juvenile if the burden is not met."
It further urges
“States to take special measures to protect children in contact with the law
including by means of
the provision of adequate legal assistance, training in juvenile justice for
judges, police
officers, prosecutors and specialized lawyers, in addition to other
representatives who provide
other appropriate assistance, such as social workers; the establishment of
specialized courts, as
appropriate; the promotion of universal birth registration and age
documentation…”
Amnesty International acknowledges the right and responsibility of governments
to bring to justice
those suspected of recognizably criminal offenses, but is unconditionally
opposed to the death
penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate
cruel, inhuman and
degrading punishment.
Name: Muhammad Abdul Karim Muhammad Haza’a (m)
Issues: Imminent execution, Death penalty
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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INDIA:
India's Mr. Death
Last year it seemed the death penalty might be on the way out in India. But in
just the past 2 months, since the new president, Pranab Mukherjee, took office,
it is being enforced again. 2 men have already been hanged, and Mukherjee
rejected the petitions for clemency of 5 death-row inmates.
In India, only the president may grant clemency to a prisoner who has been
sentenced to death. The president's decision is subject to judicial review by
the Supreme Court but only to determine whether the act was within the
president's mandate. The law also allows the president to indefinitely delay
considering a mercy petition and so, in effect, to indefinitely stay an
execution.
3 successive presidents - K.R. Narayanan, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil
- used these prerogatives to ensure that from 1999 to 2012, only 1 hanging took
place in India. Most notably, Patil granted clemency to 34 people, and
Narayanan stalled on all the petitions that came up before him.
But since the beginning of the year, Mukherjee has ensured that Ajmal Kasab
(convicted for the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008) and Afzal Guru
(convicted for the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001) have been hanged.
He has also rejected the mercy petitions of Mahendra Nath Das, who was
sentenced for murdering a man by beheading in 1996, and 4 men who killed 22
policemen in a landmine blast in 1993, the so-called Veerappan Gang.
This recent severity has rekindled the debate over capital punishment in India.
Former President Kalam, who was not entirely soft - he refused to pardon
Dhananjoy Chatterjee, who was executed in 2004 for raping and killing a
14-year-old girl - has called for a national debate on the issue.
I oppose the death penalty under any circumstances, but even Indians who are
willing to consider it in some cases have become concerned recently about the
cruelty and arbitrariness of its application.
The delays are staggering. Das has been in jail for 17 years, with his petition
for clemency pending for 12 years. The members of the Veerappan Gang have
served 19 years. They had been awarded a life sentence by a lower court; it is
only after they appealed the verdict that they were sentenced to death. All 5
men now await hanging, having already served longer terms than most prisoners
convicted for life, who usually serve about 14 years.
Not all death-row inmates seem to have the same rights. After the Veerappan
Gang's mercy petitions were rejected, the 4 men were given a chance to ask the
Supreme Court to review the president's decision and their executions were
stayed. But Guru, whose petition was rejected on Feb. 3, 2013, was hanged just
a few days later, on Sat., Feb. 9, and was informed that his application had
failed only hours before the execution. His family was not notified until after
his death.
And that's to say nothing of the subjectivity displayed by judges at
sentencing. Last year, in her judgment against the former B.J.P. minister Maya
Kodnani, on trial for leading a mob that killed 97 Muslims in the state of
Gujarat in 2002, Jyotsna Yagnik observed that, although the death penalty may
"bring justice" and it was desirable to reduce crime, she could not overlook
the fact that 139 countries have repealed the death sentence. "This court
believes the use of death undermines human dignity," the judge wrote and
sentenced Kodnani to life in prison.
Yet Guru - who was convicted on questionable evidence - was sentenced to death
because, according to that judge, the 2001 attack on Parliament in which he
participated had "shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the
society will be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender."
When the application of a death sentence so depends on the discretion of a
judge and a president, the punishment is not just inhuman, it is intolerable.
(source: Hartosh Singh Bal is political editor of Open Magazine and co-author
of "A Certain Ambiguity."----New York Times)
***************************
MP urges India to end death penalty
The British Government should use "every mechanism of communication" to urge
India to end the death penalty, a Labour MP has said.
John McDonnell said Britain was "uniquely placed" with its shared history with
India to urge its government to halt executions and sign up to the UN
Convention opposing the death penalty.
Introducing a backbench business Commons debate on the Kesri Lehar petition to
abolish the death penalty in India, the MP for Hayes and Harlington paid
tribute to the campaigners, many of whom sat watching the debate in the public
gallery.
He said that last year when the "first inkling" was received that India was
considering ending its 8 year moratorium on implementing the death penalty,
members of the Punjabi community in the UK, especially the Punjabi Sikhs came
together and launched the campaign.
They secured more than 100,000 names on their petition to abolish the death
penalty and address other human rights concerns.
Mr McDonnell said "fears were compounded" when in November 2012 India ended its
moratorium and carried out an execution, with a hanging taking place in
February this year.
In December 2012 the UN voted for the 4th time for a resolution calling for a
global moratorium on executions and while 111 countries voted for, India voted
against.
He argued there was a "real risk" that with more than 400 people on death row
in India and 100 more sentenced to death each year, many more executions were
likely to follow unless action was taken.
He said: "First of all we need to recognise the historical relationship between
India and Britain means that the UK Government is uniquely placed to urge the
Indian government to end the death penalty.
"Therefore I'm calling on the UK Government to use every forum, every mechanism
of communication established with India both formal and informal, to press the
Indian government to halt the executions now and then to sign up to the UN
Convention opposing the death penalty.
"I wrote to the Prime Minister before his recent visit to India to urge him to
raise this issue with the Indian government and I hope that the minister can
report back on that, and the continuing pressure that successive governments
now across party have been placing upon the Indian government."
Mr McDonnell urged Britain to raise the issue with European partners to seek a
joint representation from all of Europe to India on the subject.
He also said Britain should work with other countries to raise this call within
the UN, adding: "With a UN Human Rights Council meeting imminent this is an
ideal time to place this back on the UN agenda." He appealed to India to
"embrace humanity by ending the state killing once and for all".
The Backbench Business motion, signed by a cross-party group of MPs, states:
"That this House welcomes the national petition launched by the Kesri Lehar
campaign urging the UK Government to press the Indian government to sign and
ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the UN
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, which encompasses the death penalty, with the result that India
would abolish the death penalty and lift this threat from Balwant Singh Rajoana
and others."
Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said the death penalty "undermined human
dignity" and said the British Government continued to aspire to its global
abolition.
He told the Commons: "Use of the death penalty in India is a complex issue and
it continues to be the subject of much debate across Indian society.
"It was disappointing India's de facto moratorium on the death penalty which
had existed for over 8 years ended with the hangings of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab
and Mohammad Afzal Guru last November and February this year respectively.
"Kasab and Guru were convicted of very serious crimes, involvement in the
Mumbai attacks in 2008 and the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament. It is
important to remember the impact such acts of terrorism have on the people of
India.
"Notwithstanding this, it remains the British Government policy to oppose the
death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. I hope the Indian
government re-establishes a moratorium on executions in line with the global
trend towards the abolition of capital punishment."
Mr Swire said he had reiterated the Government's position to the Indian
administration last week when he accompanied Prime Minister David Cameron to
the country.
And he said the India-EU Human Rights Dialogue would present a further
opportunity.
The minister added: "They listened to what I had to say, was aware of our
consistent position, and stressed to me the very real fear in India created by
these acts of terrorism."
Shadow foreign office minister John Spellar said: "I congratulate Kesri Lehar
for their campaign.
"Uniting the community, whatever their views may be, and also gaining very wide
public awareness of the issues we are discussing today.
"I also reaffirm the united determination of this Parliament on all sides to
secure justice for the Sikh community of the Punjab."
(source: Asian Image)
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Marital rape not criminal offence: MPs committee backs govt
The government's decisions to reject marital rape as a criminal offense and to
introduce the death penalty for the most extreme rape cases have been accepted
by a parliamentary committee.
The committee is studying tough new laws introduced recently by the government
to punish crimes against women, a matter of national discourse and concern
since a medical student's fatal gang-rape on a moving bus in Delhi in December.
The government cleared a package of laws as an ordinance, which has to be
approved by parliament within the next few weeks. Before they are taken up for
debate, they are being reviewed by a committee that includes parliamentarians
from the opposition.
The changed laws were based largely on the recommendations of a government
commission, which was set up public outrage over the student's attack. The
committee of 3 legal experts, headed by retired Chief Justice JS Verma, had
asked for marital rape to be considered a criminal offence; it had said instead
of the death penalty, life imprisonment should be used for cases where women
die as a result of sexual assault. The Verma Commission said both these
provisions were based on consensus among women activists.
The government has said that criminalising marital rape would weaken
traditional family values in India, and that marriage presumes consent,
arguments opposed fiercely by women's activists.
(source: NDTV)
*********************************
Whose collective conscience got satisfied
Afzal Guru's secret execution has added a new chapter to the book of self rule
movement of Kashmir. Blame game and stiff opposition over being soft on
terrorism accusation has made countless scapegoats to feed the political
survival. Reduction of democracy to a lawlessness state might not have been
imagined by those who liberated India from foreign yoke. This secret and
selective execution will further estrange the relation between India and
Kashmir and will increase the trust deficit which is already increasing at
faster pace. This secret and selective execution has casted a serious doubt
about the independent judiciary. Death penalty has been suggested in the rarest
of rare cases but this 'rarest of rare' meaning is unanswered and has been kept
open to suit it according to political convenience.
If collective conscience of a nation has got satisfied by taking Afzal Guru to
gallows on conspiracy charge of Parliament attack of 2001, what about the
collective conscience of victims of riots of Gujarat in 2002, victims of rape
and murder in Kashmiri by men in uniform and those families whose members got
disappeared and killed in fake encounters. What about the victims of blasts of
Malegaon, Mecca Masjid, Ajmeer and Samjahuta Express where fingers were raised
on the Muslims but it turned out to be the act of Hindutva goons. Why this
collective conscience has allowed Narendra Modi to be as Chief Minister of
Gujarat when he himself was part of conspiracy of genocide 2002 which has cast
a stigma on the secular fabric of India. Why should not be hanged those who
were responsible for fake encounters for getting promotion and lucrative post.
POTA, AFSPA and PSA are applied only on Muslim and are evidently being misused.
If these draconian laws are not revoked then days are not too far-off when
whole Kashmir which is world's best tourist destination will turn into a
graveyard of innocent people and people will not visit here for enjoying the
scenic beauty but to pay tribute to these innocent victims. Had there been any
Muslim responsible for the assassination of former Chief Minister of Punjab or
Rajiv Gandhi he would have been surely taken to the gallows.
Omar Abdullah is not feeling ashamed in shedding crocodile's tear by stating
that he was neither consulted nor asked for signing on death penalty. But there
reports that he was informed a week before. If we agree with the Omar
Abdullah's theory that he was informed late it is because central government
knew it better that power hungry government, of J&K, which is a puppet in their
hands will not pose any threat to the stability of UPA. Can Omar Abdullah be
asked about the fate of his 'request' which as per his previous claim was sent
to centre for not giving death sentence to Afzal Guru due to fear that it may
disrupt the peace in Kashmir. Why did centre act contrary to the request, if
was made. It is very unfortunate that instead of digging deep into the legal
proof of direct involvement, court was interested in satisfying the national
conscience. Rather than be based upon the feelings and conscience of blood
thirsty mob, Court has to act on legal proof and should not act as a conscience
satisfying agency and that conscience which satisfies the political motive of
power regain. The politics of power-regain and political survival can take any
person to gallows.
Height of degradation is that family was informed through the speed post in
this age of internet and telephone. Kashmiri Muslim students are beaten
ruthlessly and girls are groped by the Hindutva goons when they protested
peacefully outside Kashmir; instead of arresting those goons police arrested
the Kashmiri students. Will not this double standard create a sense of
alienation among the Kashmiri Muslims by not arresting such goons under Public
Safety Act? Is not it against the humanity to bury the body inside the jail
premises on the pretext that by seeing the dead body of Afzal Guru people will
create law and order problem as it will invoke anger and bitterness in the
minds of people of the trouble torn state. It is even after knowing that
Maqbool Bhat's inside jail burial incident of 1984 has already created
bitterness among the Muslims of Kashmir, now India has repeated the same
blunder by adding the additional fuel to the fire which started in 1984; since
that time Kashmir is on boil.
Why is the court silent over the secret execution and deliberate attempt to
inform the family late. It is deliberate attempt to prove his involvement by
denying fair trial. It is proper to call it cowardly act rather than to call it
secret execution. If Afzal Guru was crying for not getting a lawyer of his
choice and why his wish could not be fulfilled? Why whole game was played in
hush-hush and secretive manner? If intention was to do justice then Afzal Guru
might not have been debarred from the media. His hanging was based upon the
theory prepared by Delhi Police and this theory was given a practical shape
through the hands of judiciary by frustrated government, which has exposed its
inability in controlling the sky-rocketing inflation and scams which may prove
costly in 2014 election.
In this country it is the media which is the sole determining authority which
can turn black into white and white into black. Those cases get quickly heard
and picked among the countless cases pending in the courts which have been
popularized by media. It is very pathetic that media has not woken up
collective conscience where a section of society is still dying of hunger even
as soaring quantity of food grain in Food Corporation of India gets perished
and is thrown away. Why Honourable Supreme Court has not satisfied the
collective conscience of slum dweller where houses are made by government, then
used by those who have political patronage. To ensure 2 times meal a day to
every family requires a level of competency which is beyond their mental
horizon that is why for winning the election development issues have taken now
a back seat and one community can be massacred to please the other community.
In Indian Politics it will not be far-off when only that party will be
considered a nationalist or pro-Indian party which has killed maximum
population of minority community. This barbarianism and state terrorism cannot
silence the voice of Kashmiris which is evident from the fact that military
might of India has failed to silence their voice despite resorting to every
inhuman and brutal method i.e. custodial death, rape, physical disappearance
etc. History has shown that voice cannot be silenced through the repressive
military method in the long-run. Afzal Guru is called a martyr in Kashmir and
will inspire others against state terrorism.
(source: Hasib Ahmed; The Writer Teaches in The Post Graduate Department of
Economics Udhampur Campus University of Jammu----Kashmir Times)
**************************************************
2 sentenced to death for Bhiwani honour killing
A Bhiwani fast-track court sentenced 2 murder convicts to death penalty on
Thursday in an honour killing case.
Naresh (23) and Subhash (30), residents of Ranila village under Dadri
subdivision of Bhiwani district, had thrashed to death their widowed aunts
Shakuntala (40) and Suman (35) on April 17, 2011.
During the interrogation, the convicts confessed that their aunts were involved
in illicit relations and they had killed them for the sake of the's family
honour.
During the interrogation, the convicts confessed that their aunts were involved
in illicit relations and they had killed them for the sake of the family's
honour. The duo had dragged both women out of their house and beaten them up
with sticks at the post office chowk in the village. Later, the victims had
succumbed to their injuries.
The duo had dragged both the women out of their house beaten them up with
sticks at the post office chowk in the village. Later, the victims had
succumbed to their injuries.
On the complaint of panch Kailash Kumar, a case was registered under sections
302 (murder), 449 (trespass), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 34 of
the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Bond police station. Naresh and Subhash were
arrested on April 19, 2011.
As per the police, Naresh had been booked on the charges of rape and kidnapping
in 2007. A Bhiwani court had sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment and he was
out on bail when the double murder was committed.
Holding Naresh and Subhash guilty on the basis of evidence presented by the
police, the court of additional district judge Sarita Gupta also imposed a fine
of Rs. 27,000 on both convicts.
(source: Hindustan Times)
BANGLADESH:
Bangladesh Islamist's death sentence sparks deadly riots
A Bangladeshi Islamist party leader was sentenced to death on Thursday over
abuses carried out during the country's independence war, triggering riots that
killed at least 30 people.
Delwar Hossain Sayedee, 73, vice-president of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was
found guilty by Bangladesh's war crimes tribunal of mass killing, rape, arson,
looting and forcing minority Hindus to convert to Islam during the 1971 war of
separation from Pakistan, lawyers and tribunal officials said.
After he was convicted and sentenced, police clashed with activists from
Sayedee's party and violence raged in more than a dozen areas around the
country, police, witnesses and media reports said.
At least 3 policemen were among the dead and around 300 were wounded, they
added.
Protesters, who said the verdict was politically motivated, set fire to a Hindu
temple and several houses in southern Noakhali region, reporters said. In the
southeastern region of Cox's Bazar, they attacked a police camp, killing 1.
2 policemen were killed when Islamists stormed a police station at Sundarganj
in northern Gaibandha district, police said. "We have been virtually besieged.
It's a horrible situation," station officer Manzur Rahman told Reuters.
Members of the religious party - known simply as Jamaat - called for a national
strike on Sunday and Monday, raising fears of more violence. Sayedee was the
3rd senior party member convicted by the tribunal.
In the capital, authorities deployed extra police and paramilitary soldiers, a
Home Ministry official told reporters.
Thousands of people in the capital's Shahbag square, who support the tribunal
and have been protesting for weeks to demand the highest penalty for war
criminals, burst into cheers as the sentence was announced.
Sayedee looked defiant but remained calm in the dock as judges read out the
verdict, witnesses said.
"I didn't commit any crime and the judges are not giving the verdict from the
core of their heart," Sayedee told the tribunal, said reporters at the hearing.
State prosecutor Haider Ali told reporters he was happy with the verdict which
he said "appropriately demonstrated justice".
Defense attorney Abdur Razzak said the sentence was politically motivated. "He
is a victim of sheer injustice. We will appeal," he said.
RIVAL PROTESTS
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set up the tribunal in 2010 to investigate abuses
during the war that claimed about 3 million lives. Thousands of women were
raped during the conflict.
The tribunal has been criticized by rights groups for failing to adhere to
international standards. Human Rights Watch said lawyers, witnesses and
investigators reported they had been threatened.
Critics say the tribunal is being used by the prime minister as an instrument
against her opponents in the two biggest opposition parties, the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami. Begum Khaleda Zia, Hasina's
arch rival and leader of the BNP, has called the tribunal a farce.
Hasina's party has denied allegations of bias.
On January 21, the tribunal sentenced Abul Kalam Azad, a former Jamaat member,
to death in absentia after he was found guilty of torture, rape and genocide
during the independence war.
In its 2nd verdict, on February 5, the tribunal sentenced another senior Jamaat
member, Abdul Quader Mollah, 64, to life in prison after he was found guilty of
murder, rape, torture and arson.
Both verdicts triggered protests by Jamaat supporters, in which at least 15
people were killed.
9 more people, mostly Jamaat members, are facing trial for war crimes, tribunal
officials said.
The overwhelmingly Muslim south Asian country of 160 million people would
likely see more violence in the run-up to parliamentary elections in January,
in which both Hasina and Khaleda will run for power, analysts said.
Bangladesh became part of Pakistan at the end of British colonial rule in 1947.
But the country, then known as East Pakistan, won independence with India's
help in December 1971 following a 9-month war against the then West Pakistan.
Some factions in Bangladesh opposed the break with Pakistan, including the
Jamaat. Jamaat leaders have denied involvement in abuses.
(source: Reuters)
****************************
Pleasure Is All Mine; It tolls for thee
Of the many moments of truth Delawar Hossain Sayedee must have faced during his
protracted trial, this one is the last straw on the camel's back. The
International Crimes Tribunal-1 has pronounced death penalty for his diabolical
crimes against humanity.
This is the 3rd consecutive judgment delivered by the International Crimes
Tribunals reflective of an advancing process of trial against the local
predators and collaborators of the Pak armed forces in 1971.
Following the verdict on Sayedee, there has been widespread violence and
destruction of property by the zealots across the country. In particular, the
mayhem along Dhaka-Chittagong highway spreading to the heart of Chittagong took
a toll of at least 5 lives let alone injuries inflicted on a large number of
people. They are on a warpath. The law enforcement agencies are out in force to
quell the disturbances.
Jamaat-Shibir's hartal call yesterday was a contrived coincidence with the war
crimes tribunal's verdict on Maulana Delawar Hossain Sayedee. It was a
deliberate act of provocation to the Jagoron Moncha. Clearly, the Jamaatees
thought that like in the case Abdul Quader Mollah the verdict on Sayedee would
be pared down out of a perceived pressure. But Jamaatees have been patently
disproved as he was sentenced to maximum punishment. It is after a due process
of law that a judgment has been delivered in his case. The Shahbagh and Shapla
Chattor generations are jubilant over the verdict that also resonates with the
popular sentiments.
This was the 4th hartal in a month by these elements, something that severely
upset the SSC examination schedules throwing the candidates and their guardians
off gear. Those who do not hesitate to cut tendons of opponents without a blink
of the eye couldn't care less about the wrenching inconvenience of the exam
candidates or people's normal pursuit of day-to-day activities.
The attempted disruption of public peace by Jamaat-Shibir combine and their
ratcheting up of violence after the verdict on Sayedee can only lead to loss of
lives and infliction of injuries and damages all around. They should shun such
an isolationist path in view of the fact that even among their peers other
Islamic parties have disassociated themselves from the Jamaat's line of thought
and approach. The best course open for them would be to help justice take its
course, be part of the process and accept the verdict of the tribunals.
They need not carry the stigma of the older generation of leaders who did not
accept Bangladesh in the first place. As contemporary Bangladeshis they
shouldn't carry any baggage of the past, instead try and emerge in a new shape
and form professing peace, true to the spirit of Islam which means peace.
All said and done, the political crisis has sunk into new depths. Some
distinguished senior citizens have characterised the latest situation as the
most difficult in the history of independent Bangladesh.
We have experienced usurpation of power, Martial Law and military rule
disguised in civilian clothes of a caretaker government. But the supreme irony
is that in an elective democracy major political forces have grown more
divisive and polarised than ever before.
TIB, in an objective assessment of the military-backed caretaker government's
role in 2007-08, highlighted the mischievous and coercive corruption and abuse
of power by a section of the army. In the end, the TIB has made a fervent plea
to the political parties not to enact a replay of 1/11 which has been the cause
of so much misfortune for the people.
Granted, the Fakhruddin-led caretaker government had done some significantly
good things but these are obscured by the massive graft, interference in civil
administration, gagging of the press and coercive extortions resorted to by a
section of the army.
The TIB has called upon political parties to sit across the table to hit a
common ground in the resolution of the caretaker dispute. We had expected that
the awesome majesty of the people circulating around Projonmo Chattor would
have a sobering effect on the key political stakeholders. This remains a far
cry. In the very least, non-violence of new generation of protestors should
have had its influence on the prevailing political culture of banter, bickering
and confrontational posturings.
As long as the Projonmo Chattor remain politically uncoloured, the nucleus of a
new genre of power that has been formed will remain intact and could be
reincarnated at a short notice, if need be.
The 1st sign of the government reaching out to the youngsters was reflected
through the amendment in the War Crime Tribunal Act to provide for appeal on
both sides and limiting the time of disposal of appeals. This will help quicken
the conclusion of the trial process.
A cabinet decision put out a call for the 1st time to Shahbagh Chattor to
assemble between 3:00 pm and 10:00 pm every Friday keeping the rest of the week
free to ease the sufferings of the patients of the major hospitals Birdem and
BSMMU. Already the youths have veered away to the National Museum and the TSC
square.
Now the challenge before the government is containing the reactionary violence.
In this task, it needs to take on board all the major political parties to
wield the right kind of influence on the course of events from here on.
(source: Shah Imam; The writer is Associate Editor, The Daily Star)
***********************************
Jamaat to strike nation down for 2 days
Jamaat-e-Islam is hitting the nation with a 'nonstop 48-hour' shutdown
beginning Sunday over Thursday's death sentence for its executive council
member Delwar Hossain Sayedee.
The party's Acting Secretary General Rafiqul Islam announced the protest
programme in a statement hours after the International Crimes Tribunal-1 handed
down the verdict for his crimes against humanity including genocide, murder,
rape, arson, loot and persecution in 1971 in his neighbourhood, southern
Pirojpur.
The verdict itself came amid a shutdown called by the party that had tried to
prevent Bangladesh???s birth and has unleashed a wave or violence in the past 3
months in a bid to stop the ongoing war crimes trial.
One of its key members, Assistant Secretary General Quader Molla's life-term
imprisonment verdict was also marked by a shutdown on Feb 5 and the following
day.
But Molla's verdict triggered uproar among the hundreds of thousands of
Bangladeshi youths who took to the street on Feb 5 and are continuing their
demand for death penalty of all accused war criminals.
The youths from capital's Shahbagh vowed to resist the Sunday and Monday
shutdown.
In the statement, Jamaat's Acting Secretary General Khan said the party would
enforce the shutdown rejecting the verdict as they felt it was given based on
'false witnesses.'
They would also protest 'the police firing' during their Thursday shutdown when
at least 30 people including policemen were killed across Bangladesh.
The statement said the party would also hold 'special prayers' after Friday's
Juma prayers.
The jubilant protesters at Shahbagh, however, said they would stick to their
pre-scheduled rally at 3pm on Friday at the 'Ganajagaran Mancha'.
Hundreds of thousands of youths who did not see the war but were imbued with
the spirit of the nine-month bloody war in which an estimated three million
Bengalis were killed are demanding a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami. Freedom fighters
who expressed solidarity with the Shahbagh movement regard the movement 'a
milestone' in Bangladesh's more than 41 years of history as it clearly showed
that the spirit of liberation war has been passed on to the generations.
The 'Ganajagaran Mancha's spokesperson Imran H Sarker, a blogger, said they
dedicated Sayedee's verdict to the sacrifices of the martyrs.
"We want everyone to come down into the streets to celebrate the occasion that
rids the nation of a stigma."
The party, which was a branch of the then East Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami, is now
facing the heat in Bangladesh, with almost its entire top leadership being
tried for alleged war crimes.
Those facing trial include the party's former chief, its current chief, the
secretary general and an Assistant Secretary General. Abudul Quader Molla, the
other Assistant Secretary General, has been convicted of the crimes.
The call to ban Jamaat has found a favour with the public and Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina and several other ministers of the government have supported the
call.
But the government is yet to outline how the Jamaat will be outlawed.
However, fierce clashes between Jamaat supporters and police killed at least 30
people including 4 policemen on Thursday in different districts including
Gaibandha, Thakurgaon, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Chittagong and Sylhet.
Police said they tried to turn back rowdy activists to maintain law and order
during the Jamaat-sponsored strike.
The 3-member ICT-1 was set up on Mar 25, 2010. The tribunal found Sayedee
guilty in eight of the 20 charges.
********************************************
Sayedee to hang
The verdict brings the 1st and perhaps the most sensational war crimes case to
an end after 16 months since the charges had been framed against the person
best known across Bangladesh for his sermons.
The sentencing triggered immediate violence in some parts of Bangladesh, mostly
in northern districts, killing at least 35 people until midnight Thursday.
The 72-year-old was driven to the tribunal in a microbus 30 minutes before the
judges met to deliver the verdict.
The 3-member International Crimes Tribunal -1, set up on Mar 25, 2010 to try
crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, met at 11:10am with
Sayedee already in the dock.
The court began with presiding judge ATM Fazle Kabir making a few statements to
set the mood of the court before reading out a summary of the 120-page verdict.
"You know him (Sayedee). He is a prominent Maulana whose sermons draw huge
crowds of believers," said Justice Kabir. "Another identity of him is that he
is a Jamaat-e-Islami Leader."
"But we have sat here not to hold trial of any Maulana or Jamaat leader. We are
here to try the Sayedee who was known as Delu Razakar during 1971."
Sayedee appeared tense throughout, dressed in a white Panjabi with a black vest
on it, as Justice Anwarul Hoque started reading the verdict with permission
from the tribunal Chairman.
Sayedee was indicted for 20 charges on Oct 3, 2011, was arrested and brought
before the tribunal for the 1st time on Nov 2, 2010.
The Nayeb-e-Amir of Jamaat, with his trademark hennaed beard, and his case at
the ICT-1, have been the subject of much attention.
Justice Hoque said prosecution has successfully established Sayedee's role as
the leader of the local Razakar unit in Perozpur, which was involved in many
crimes against humanity.
In the tribunal, the orders passed in this case settled precedents for other
cases at both the war crimes tribunals. The 2nd tribunal was set up to expedite
war crimes trials on Mar 23, 2012.
One of the largest Islamist parties in the sub-continent, Jamaat is now facing
the heat in Bangladesh, with almost its entire top leadership behind the bars
and up on the docks on war crimes charges.
Those facing trial include the party's former chief, its current chief, the
secretary general and an assistant secretary general.
1 assistant secretary general, Abdul Quader Molla, was sentenced to life for
his war crimes on Feb 5 which sparked off mass protests demanding the death
penalty.
Since his arrest, the tribunal disposed of a number of bail petitions.
Responding to a prayer by Sayedee's counsel, the court directed the authorities
to ensure better treatment of the accused in the hospital and for providing him
with "health friendly" transport during his movement between the jail, the
tribunal and the hospital.
The prosecution proposed formal charges on Jul 11, 2011 alleging that Sayedee
was a member and leader of the local Razakar unit, a vigilante militia,
committed crimes against humanity.
The tribunal took cognisance of the charges on Jul 14, 2011.
The prosecution's case is that Sayedee was a minor road side vendor at Parerhat
before the Liberation War when he was known by the surname of Shikdar. He,
however, became a member of the local Peace Committee, an infamous social
platform mobilised centrally by right-wing political parties opposed to
Bangladesh's independence.
Sayedee came to prominence, apparently, because of his fluency in Urdu and went
on to lead the local Razakar units on a number of raids.
Soon after the war, Sayedee went into hiding fearing reprisals by freedom
fighters, only to emerge much later with a changed surname.
Sayedee's 20 charges included genocide, murder, rape, arson, loot and
persecution.
The defence, however, argued that this was a case of mistaken identity saying
that the notorious Delwar Hossain Shikdar had been apprehended and executed by
freedom fighters after the war.
Sayedee, the man being charged, the defence said, used to reside in Jessore
during and before 1971 and was even engaged in giving sermons back then.
He, and his family, had fled Jessore looking for safety and stayed at the house
of a 'Peer' for about 2 weeks from around Apr 1, 1971. Thereafter the Sayedee
family took refuge in another village, Mohiron, under Bagharpara in Jessore at
one Roushan Ali's house.
The Sayedee family, the defence argued, stayed there for 2 1/2 month. They then
went to their village home.
The Jamaat leader has lost his eldest son and his mother during the trial.
He himself suffered a heart attack as well, on his return from son Rafique
Sayedee's funeral. The following surgery, administering t3 stents, forced him
to stay away from the trial for almost a month around mid-2012.
There have been 28 witnesses for the prosecution and 16 for the defence.
In addition, the tribunal received 16 witness statements given to the
investigator after the prosecution argued that those witnesses were either
dead, or that producing them before the tribunal would incur unreasonable delay
or expenditure.
The investigator, Mohammad Helal Uddin, an additional superintendent of police,
was grilled for almost 50 days between Apr 8 and Aug 13 last year. The
investigator first deposed for 8 days and then faced cross-examination for more
than 40 days.
Together with his deposition and cross-examination the court recorded a little
less than 153,000 words, enough to fill 38 pages of broadsheet newspaper.
(source for both: BD News24)
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