May 11
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA:
UN wants death penalty off the books
Several countries at the United Nations (UN) have recommended that the
government of Antigua & Barbuda establish a formal moratorium on capital
punishment.
The recommendations, which came from among approximately 44 country
representatives at the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council???s
Universal Periodic Review (UPR), continued despite the representatives being
advised that a de facto moratorium has existed since the 1990s.
The 1st representative to raise the matter was from Australia. "Establish a
formal moratorium on the death penalty with a view to ratifying the second
optional protocol to the international covenant on civil and political rights,"
she advised.
Many other countries followed suit. Panama's representative said, "Consider
establishing an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the
death penalty ..." while another Latin American country, Honduras, advised the
same.
The United Kingdom's (UK) representative said, " ... respect national legal
procedures and the standards required by the Privy Council and the UN for the
protection of the rights of prisoners sentenced to death."
In response, Antigua & Barbuda's representative at the review, Parliamentary
Secretary in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Senator, Maureen Payne-Hyman,
assured the group that in practice a moratorium exists.
"With the issue of the death penalty, that's a very touchy and vexing issue in
the Caribbean. In Antigua, it does not matter what type of crime you've
committed, you're not executed," she said.
Portugal responded by advising that the government abolish capital punishment
"both in practice and in law." Many similar recommendations followed.
The UPR is conducted on the human right records of all UN member states. The
latest review was Antigua & Barbuda's 2nd. The 1st review was conducted in
2011.
Superintendent of Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Albert Wade confirmed that there
are no inmates awaiting the execution of a sentence of death or "on death row"
as any such inmates were ordered to be re-sentenced by the Judicial Committee
of the Privy Council.
(source: Antigua Observer)
JAMAICA:
Jamaican Diaspora's mixed feelings of possible return of hanging
The Jamaicans in the U.S. may be united in a call for stronger action to stem
the tide of killings in their birthplace but they are divided when it comes to
resuming hanging.
Reacting to a disclosure by Robert Montague, Jamaica's National Security
Minister that the Andrew Holness Administration was considering bringing back
the death penalty, Jamaicans in the Diaspora, especially in New York, said
aggressive steps were urgently needed to reduce the high homicide rate but they
were far from being unanimous on any return of capital punishment.
"The problem we face is the wanton use of violence in the commission of crime
in Jamaica," said New York Assemblyman Nick Perry, Assistant Speaker pro-tem of
the legislature in Albany. "The killings of innocent people, especially in case
in which the victims have handed over their possessions and are not fighting
back are appalling and cry out for stiffer punishment. People are simply fed up
with what is taking place and many are agitating for a strong response,
including hanging.
"Although I am not a supporter of the death penalty I wouldn't be among those
who are arguing we must save the life of a convicted killer who murdered
someone in such merciless circumstances," insisted Perry. "The country is
desperate for a solution in the wake of some killings.
"Scientific research has shown that capital punishment isn't a deterrent, but
there is increasing support across Jamaica for it because in far too many
cases, there was no rhyme or reason to take people's lives," added Perry,
Chairman of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus in the state
legislature. "I am not a death penalty advocate but in some cases its use may
be justified."
The recent killings of 2 American missionaries, Harold Nichols and Randy
Hentzel, who had spent 14 years building houses and otherwise serving poor
communities in the Albion Mountain region in north-eastern St. Mary have
triggered widespread concern in and out of Jamaica.
"Marks of violence were seen on Nichol's body," said Dwight Powell, Deputy
Superintendent and acting head of St. Mary's police. Hentzel's body was found
face down in bushes with his hands bound behind his back.
"It was a horrible example of violence," said Assemblyman Perry.
Joan Pinnock, President of the Jamaican-American Bar Association, Northeast,
agreed but was quick to reject any return of hanging in the Caricom nation.
"The crime situation is quite bad as children, seniors and the youth are being
victimized," complained Pinnock, representative of the northeastern region of
the U.S. on the Jamaica Diaspora Board. "But we must find other ways to impose
stiffer punishment without resorting to the death penalty. I am opposed to any
return of hanging because it will not solve our problem. I don't believe we
have a right to take people's lives. The deaths of the missionaries were awful
violent act. Denying killers freedom for the rest of their lives is a stiff and
appropriate punishment."
Canon Calvin McIntyre, Rector of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in
the Bronx stopped short of endorsing the return of hanging in Jamaica but
called for "drastic measures" to reduce the homicide rate.
"I am not saying hang them, those who commit murder and are found guilty in
court," explained the priest who is retiring from his position in the Bronx in
December and plans to return to Jamaica. "We must send a strong message to
those who plan and carry out such heinous crimes. We must let them know that
drastic punishment will follow. Clearly, there must be accountability,
particularly for premeditated murder. The murder rate is deterring many
Jamaicans from returning home."
Michael Williams, a Jamaican immigrant in Brooklyn was emphatic that the death
penalty was needed to send a message to those who kill.
"The Bible speaks of an eye for an eye and I believe that," he added.
(source: nycaribnews.com)
INDONESIA:
Amnesty International Slams Indonesia's Plans to Execute Priosners on Death-Row
Amnesty International on Wednesday (11/05) slammed Indonesia's plans to execute
death-row inmates, following recent reports of inmates being moved to
Nusakambangan prison, where prisoners typically await their execution.
The executions are believed to take place this month as Attorney General H.M.
Prasetyo has said that preparations ahead of the third round of executions are
on track with probably 14 death row inmates on the list, including 10
foreigners. The government has not announced the names of the inmates, although
some names have been speculated by the media.
Last Sunday, 3 local prisoners, Suryanto (53), Agus Hadi (53) and Pudjo Lestari
(42), were moved from Tembesi pison in Batam, Riau Islands, to Nusakambangan
prison in what appears to be part of preparations for executions.
Amnesty said the 3 prisoners were sentenced to death in 2007 for being
convicted of attempting to smuggle benzodiazepine pills from Malaysia, a drug
trafficking offense which does not meet the requisite "most-serious crimes"
threshold under international human rights law to warrant the death penalty.
"It is devastating to hear that 3 more people are facing execution. The death
penalty is a cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment that has no place in
today's justice system," Amnesty International crisis campaigns coordinator
Diana Sayed said on Wednesday.
Amnesty, who has campaigned for the abolition of the death penalty for more
than 4 decades in more than 140 countries, called on Indonesian authorities to
immediately halt any executions plans.
"The death penalty is always a violation of human rights and can never be
condoned under any circumstances. State sanctioned killing only serves to
continue the cycle of violence and we know it doesn't work as a deterrent for
further crimes," she added.
Amnesty also urged Indonesia to establish a moratorium on all executions with a
view to abolishing the death penalty, a policy previously upheld during Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono's administration.
Last year, most of the executed inmates were foreigners, prompting a wave of
international condemnation of Indonesia's use of capital punishment as well as
diplomatic pressure from many countries.
After the executions, Australia temporarily recalled its ambassador to
Indonesia following the execution of Bali 9 duo Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew
Chan. The relationship has since been restored.
*******************
Indonesian Drug Smuggler to Evade Execution Due to Ongoing Legal Process
Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly has confirmed that death-row
convict Freddy Budiman will not be included in the third round of executions of
drug convicts that is expected to take place soon.
Freddy, who was found guilty of smuggling 1.4 million ecstasy pills from China
to Indonesia, has so far evaded execution due to an incomplete legal process.
"He still has an ongoing legal process. Just ask the attorney general," Yasonna
said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday.
Moreover, the minister said he had not yet received detailed information about
the 3rd round of executions.
"I have not been notified. Ask the attorney general," Yasonna said.
The executions were expected to take place in the beginning of this year, as it
is funded from the 2016 budget of the Attorney General's Office.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports state that the names of 14 death-row inmates
have been included in the list, including 10 foreigners.
Several parties have also requested the inclusion of French national Sergei
Areski Atlaoui and Mary Jane Veloso of the Philippines, after the latter was
given a temporary reprieve previously due to the ongoing trial of her employer
in her homeland.
Last year, most of the executed inmates were foreigners, prompting a wave of
international condemnation of Indonesia's use of capital punishment as well as
diplomatic pressure from many countries.
(source for both: Jakarta Globe)
*****************
see:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/indonesia-halt-executions-ua-11016
(source: Amnesty International USA)
*****************
'I am haunted': Indonesia death row prisoners allege they were tortured to
confess
2 fingers on Lim Jit Wee's right hand are ugly stumps; a legacy, he says, of
the torture that led to him falsely implicating a man he had never met in a
crime punishable by death in Indonesia.
In 2007, Lim, a Malaysian, was working as a driver for another Malaysian man
when Indonesian police found 12,000 ecstasy tablets in his boss's car.
Lim says he was apprehended at gunpoint by police from the National Narcotics
Agency outside his Taman Anggrek apartment in West Jakarta. "They asked me to
say where the (ecstasy) factory and products are, when I am only the driver -
how can I know?"
He says he was dragged behind a speedboat in Ancol in North Jakarta and lost
the tops of his fingers after a steel table leg was slammed onto them - "I
stitch it myself, I never go to the clinic or hospital" - and he was struck in
the collarbone with a metal bar.
"I said: 'I don't know, I'm Malaysian.' They just beat me."
Lim says he was forced to "confess" that a man named Christian was his boss.
In 2008, Christian, who like many Indonesians goes by 1 name, was sentenced to
death for importing a psychotropic substance.
He now faces death by firing squad, with a further round of executions for drug
offenders imminent in Indonesia.
But on Tuesday, Lim told the West Jakarta District Court he did not know
Christian at the time of his arrest.
"I have spent 8 1/2 years in jail and I have difficulty sleeping because I know
I testified wrongly against Christian," says Lim, who was also sentenced to
death.
"I said something because I was forced ... because I was tortured, my fingers
cut off. I feel guilty, I am haunted by the feeling that I made an innocent man
have a difficult life."
Christian, who sold imported flour, was parking his car on a Jakarta street on
November 25, 2007, when police pointed a pistol at his head and detained him
without a warrant.
He was allegedly handcuffed, blindfolded and beaten. Photographs shown in
court, taken the day after he was detained in November 2007, show deep bruises
on his abdomen and arms.
He was not arrested at the crime scene and no urine test was conducted,
something required in drug-related cases.
Christian's lawyer, Azas Tigor Nainggolan, who works for the Catholic Bishops'
Conference of Indonesia, says his client was wrongfully convicted on false
evidence and had an unfair trial.
He has launched action in the West Jakarta District Court to request a judicial
review of Christian's case.
"Our judicial system is still unfair and corrupt, so we should not apply the
death sentence," Mr Tigor says.
From September 2010 to December 2011 the National Human Rights Commission of
Indonesia (Komnas HAM) monitored prisoners on death row in jails throughout
Indonesia.
Commissioner Roichatul Aswidah said the investigation uncovered many instances
of torture.
"Our monitoring found cases of wrongful arrest, Christian's case in
particular," she told the court.
"He was wrongfully arrested and tortured. Lim was also tortured. Death
sentences cannot be issued in cases in which torture is part of the legal
process."
Meanwhile, the Bishops' Conference of Indonesia has asked the government to
re-examine 300 death penalty convictions it believes were the result of unfair
trials.
But the drums are beating, with the latest round of executions expected this
month. West Java police are now saying 15 drug offenders will be executed in
the latest round. Mr Tigor admits he is "very worried".
Christian says his wife and daughters have never stopped suffering.
"It is a lie that Indonesia is based on justice and law," he says. "There is no
justice in Indonesia."
(source: Sydney Morning Herald)
*************
15 Drug Convicts to be Executed This Month
15 drug convicts on death row, including 10 foreigners, will face firing squads
at an unspecified date in mid May, a spokesman for Central Java police told
BenarNews on Tuesday.
The executions would be the 1st since 8 mostly foreign drug convicts were
executed in April 2015 amid a diplomatic uproar involving Indonesia, Australia
and Brazil.
The executions would also be 3rd round carried out under the administration of
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo since he took office in October 2014.
Officials from Joko's administration could not be reached on Tuesday for
confirmation about the new round of executions.
The 15 convicts include 4 Chinese nationals, 2 Nigerians, 2 Senegalese, 1
Pakistani and a citizen of Zimbabwe, Central Java Police spokesman Aloysius
Liliek Darmanto said.
"5 are Indonesian citizens while 10 are foreigners," Liliek told BenarNews.
"The Indonesians are 4 men and 1 woman," he said, declining to name all 15
convicts.
Central Java Police have 180 personnel prepared to serve as members of firing
squads, he added.
"However, the executioners have not been dispatched to Nusakambangan as they
still wait for instructions from the attorney general," Liliek said, referring
to a penal island off the southern coast of Central Java that is home to
Indonesia's highest security prison.
8 drug convicts, including 2 Australians, a Brazilian and 2 Nigerians, were put
to death there on April 29, 2015. Personnel were sent to the island about 72
hours before the executions.
On Jan. 18, 2015, 6 other drug convicts were executed in Boyolali, Central
Java.
If the Nusakambangan procedure is followed, security will be tightened around
the Wijaya Pier at Cilacap port, the closest port to the island.
Transferred to Nusakambangan
Over the past 2 weeks, 4 drug convicts on death row were transferred to
Nusakambangan, but the prison's coordinator said he did not know if the
transfers were related to possible executions.
"All are under the authority of the attorney general, our duty is only to
accommodate," Abdul Haris told BenarNews.
Indonesian Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo could not be reached for comment.
Previously, he told reporters that the government did not want to release
specific details about the executions to avoid violent protests.
Following the April 2015 executions, the Jokowi administration was criticized
by Australia and Brazil for carrying them out.
Australia recalled its ambassador to Indonesia after 2 of its citizens, Andrew
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were among the 8 who were shot.
'Not the answer'
The Jakarta Post in January quoted the attorney general as saying that the
death sentences were needed against drug offenders as "shock therapy against
serious crime."
Jokowi used a similar phrase in December 2014 to describe executions in
combating drug offenses.
Human rights groups in Indonesia, however, are protesting the possible
executions.
Al Araf, the director of Imparsial, a Jakarta -based rights group, said Jokowi
had failed in his electoral campaign promise known as Nawa Cita (9 priorities
for a better Indonesia).
"Nawa Cita focuses on the respect of human rights. If the execution is
conducted, it means the government is not consistent," he told BenarNews.
"In my opinion, the death penalty should be removed completely. Why don't we
encourage a more civilized law? The law is supposed to humanize people and
correct mistakes," he added.
Meanwhile, Haris Azhar, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons
and Victims of Violence (KontraS), said Indonesia's policy of capital
punishment needed to be re-examined.
"Drug crimes involve a lot of people. Punishments cannot be imposed on 1 or 2
people who get caught," Haris told BenarNews.
He said the government should reveal large networks behind drug trafficking in
Indonesia, no matter who is exposed.
Haris's colleague, Puri Kencana Putri, said executions had no deterrent effect
or effect in reducing drug-related crimes. Data from the National Narcotics
Agency in 2015 said that the number of drug addicts increased to 5.9 million
people from the previous year.
"That's the proof," she told BenarNews. "The death penalty is not the answer.
It should be abolished."
(source: BenarNews)
BANGLADESH:
3 to die, 8 get life in 3 murder cases
3 people were sentenced to death and 8 others to life imprisonment in three
separate murder cases in Narsingdi, Gazipur and Mymensingh yesterday.
A Narsingdi court sentenced a woman and her lover to death for killing her son
in 2011 following an extramarital relationship.
Narsingdi Additional District and Sessions Judge Shaheen Uddin sentenced
Jahanara Akhter, 28, daughter of Kabir Hossain of Chalna village and Hanif
Sheikh, 30, son of Abdus Sattar of Khalapara village in Palash upazila, to
death and fined them Tk 10,000 each, reports UNB.
According to the prosecution, Jahanara, wife of Babul Hossain, a Dubai
expatriate, developed an extramarital relationship with Hanif Sheikh in absence
of her husband.
As Sanaullah, 6, son of Jahanara informed the matter to his father over phone,
Jahanara along with Hanif strangled him to death in her house on October 5,
2011.
Deeply shocked at the news, Babul returned home the following day and filed a
case against them.
Later, police arrested Jahanara and Hanif.
After examining records and witnesses, Narsingdi Additional District and
Sessions Judge Shaheen Uddin handed down the verdict.
Our Gazipur correspondent reported that a court here yesterday sentenced a
woman to death for killing her mother-in-law in Kaliakoir upazila in January
last year following a family feud.
District and Sessions Judge AKM Enamul Haque passed the order.
The death penalty awardee is Rozina, wife of Parvez of Mouchak Uttarpara in the
upazila. Rozina hacked her mother-in-law Parveen Akhter on the night of January
15 last year while she was asleep.
Parvez was at a relative's house at the time of the incident. Locals caught
Rozina the following day and handed her over to the police
After investigation, police pressed charges against Rozina on May 31. After
examining the case record and 13 witnesses, the judge pronounced the verdict.
In Mymensingh, A court here sentenced eight people to life imprisonment in a
murder case yesterday. The court also fined the convicts Tk 5000 each. In
default, they are to suffer six months more in jail, court sources said.
The convicts are Md Ziauddin, Abdul Awal Member, his son Nasirul Haque, Sumon
Miah, Humayan Kabir, Alamgir Kabir, Abdul Baten and Sirajul Islam, They all
hail from Gandokhola village in Trishal upazila of the district.
According to the prosecution, a gang of robbers entered the house of Ramzan Ali
of Gandokhola village on the night of September 23, 2003.
When the house owner Ramzan Ali tried to resist the gang, they stabbed him.
Critically injured Ramzan was rushed to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital
(MMCH) where he where he succumbed to his injuries the following day.
Arif Robbani, son of Ramzan lodged a case with Trishal Police Station on
September 31.
Later, police pressed charge-sheet against the 8.
After examining the witnesses and evidence, Judge Mohammad Johirul Kabir of the
Second Additional District and Sessions Judge's Court handed down the verdict.
******************
Bangladesh on alert after execution of Jamaat leader
Authorities in Bangladesh heightened security after Motiur Rahman Nizami, chief
of the largest Islamist party, was executed early on Wednesday for his role in
genocide and other serious crimes during independence war against Pakistan in
1971.
Shortly after midnight, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Jamaat-e-Islami
leader Nizami was hanged inside Dhaka central jail amid tight security at 12:10
am.
The execution came after the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty given to
Nizami by a special tribunal.
The Jamaat-e-Islami condemned the execution and called a day-long general
strike on Thursday but such protest calls usually do not attract any major
response from people.
After the execution, an ambulance escorted by security officials carried
Nizami's body to his ancestral home in northwestern Pabna district, where he
was buried in the morning, his family said.
The 73-year-old is the 5th man to be hanged for war crimes. 3 senior leaders of
the Jamaat and a senior leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist
Party, led by former premier Khaleda Zia, were sent to the gallows earlier.
Pakistani soldiers aided by local collaborators killed 3 million people, raped
200,000 women and forced some 10 million to flee the country during the nine
months of war in then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.
Nizami's death sentence was upheld for three charges - the slaying of 480
people in 2 separate incidents in 1971 and orchestrating the killing of
intellectuals just 2 days before Bangladesh gained independence. He was the
leader of Al Badr militia group, which was responsible for kidnapping and
killing of dozens of teachers, journalists and doctors.
He fled to Pakistan when Bangladesh gained independence but returned under
state patronage following the assassination of independence leader Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family in a coup in 1975.
Nizami later became chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami and served as a cabinet
minister when Zia was the premier during 2001-06 .
He was also sentenced to death in a separate case of smuggling 10 trucks of
arms and ammunition during 2001-06. The consignment was brought to the country
through a state-run jetty in Chittagong that was under his ministry. At the
time, Nizami was industries minister and the consignment came to the country
under state backing to be used by the Indian militant group ULFA.
Earlier on Tuesday evening, Nizami's family members met him after he refused to
seek presidential clemency, the last legal remedy available to a condemned man.
(source: Hindustan Times)
***************************
Long delays in Nizami's trial
The investigation into the war crimes of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Motiur Rahman
Nizami and Abdul Quader Mollah began on the same day in July 2010. Charges were
framed against the duo on the same day in May of 2012.
The cases, however, had different paces from then on.
The entire legal procedures of Quader Mollah's case ended on December 12, 2013
and he was executed that very day.
Nizami's legal proceedings ended yesterday, nearly 2 1/2 years after Quader
Mollah was executed.
Nizami's case took around 36 months, from indictment to the final verdict, due
to alleged delaying tactics of the defence; the Chittagong arms haul case, in
which Nizami was an accused and had been sentenced to death; reconstitution of
the International Crimes Tribunal-1; changes of prosecutors; and the convict's
"illness" on the day of verdict delivery, according to 2 prosecutors and media
reports.
The Supreme Court dismissed his petition seeking review of the apex court's
order that upheld his death penalty for the crimes he committed during the 1971
Liberation War.
Nizami was shown arrested on August 2, 2010, in the war crimes case along with
his party colleagues Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and
Abdul Quader Mollah.
As the trial began after their indictment, defence counsels brought an array of
time petitions for what the prosecution said was to delay the trial.
Besides, defence counsels remained absent on hartal days citing "security
concerns and personal grounds", prompting the tribunal to defer trial
proceedings.
The tribunal on several occasion fined defence counsels for not showing up
before the court even though it had offered to provide necessary protection for
the counsels on hartal days.
Amid the defence failing to show up, the tribunal on November 13, 2013,
concluded the case proceedings.
The tribunal, however, allowed the defence to place their closing arguments and
the case finally ended on November 20 that year.
The trial suffered another setback when the then chairman of the tribunal
Justice ATM Fazle Kabir went on retirement in January, 2014, without delivering
the verdict.
53 days after his retirement, the tribunal was reconstituted on February 23
with a new chairman, Justice M Enayetur Rahim, and the tribunal decided to hear
the closing arguments once again.
Closing arguments of the prosecution and the defence went on between March 10
and March 24 when the tribunal concluded the case proceedings.
The tribunal on June 23, 2014, fixed the following day for delivering the
verdict but could not do so as the jail authorities did not produce Nizami
before the tribunal citing him being "sick".
The trial of Nizami was also bogged down due to his being an accused in the
sensational 10-truck arms haul case of 2004. The government had to send him to
Chittagong usually twice a month so that he could appear before a court there.
In August, 2013, the tribunal, in an extraordinary move, overcame this barrier
with an order that Nizami was not to be produced in the Chittagong court, if
proceedings of the 2 cases coincided.
On top of this, change of the conducting prosecutor twice, poor preparations of
the prosecution and its failure to produce witnesses caused more delays, this
paper learnt.
The progress of all cases at Tribunal-1, including Nizami's case, had stalled
for a couple of weeks in December, 2012, following the "Skype scandal". The
defence had filed petitions for a retrial but it was rejected on January 3,
2013.
Tribunal-1 finally delivered the verdict on October 29, 2014. Nizami, however,
challenged the verdict before the Supreme Court seeking acquittal from all
charges.
After the apex court on January 6 this year upheld his death penalty and Nizami
sought review of the verdict, and the court on May 5 this year rejected the
petition bringing an end to the long legal battle.
(source for both: The Daily Star)
**************
Nizami execution will not deliver justice
The execution of Motiur Rahman Nizami Tuesday is a deplorable move by the
Bangladeshi authorities which will not deliver justice to the victims of war
crimes, Amnesty International said today.
Motiur Rahman Nizami, the current chief of Bangladeshi political party
Jamaat-e-Islami, was hanged at Dhaka Central Jail today. He was sentenced to
death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh in October 2014
after he was convicted of charges relating murder, torture, rape and the mass
killing of intellectuals during Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971.
"We are dismayed that Bangladeshi authorities have executed Motiur Rahman
Nizami. The victims of the horrific events of the 1971 Liberation War are
entitled to justice, but taking another life is not the answer," said Champa
Patel, Amnesty International's Director of the South Asia Regional Office.
"The death penalty is always a human rights violation, but its use is even more
troubling when the execution follows a flawed process. There are serious
questions about the fairness of Motiur Rahman Nizami's trial - and of
proceedings before the ICT more generally - that have not been addressed.
Victims of past atrocities deserve better than a flawed process.
"The victims of the horrific events of the 1971 Liberation War are entitled to
justice, but taking another life is not the answer"----Champa Patel, Amnesty
International's Director of the South Asia Regional Office
"We urge the Bangladeshi authorities to join most of the world by turning its
back on this cruel and irreversible punishment, and impose a moratorium on the
implementation of the death penalty with a view to its eventual repeal."
The government has a duty to ensure accountability for war crimes, and it is
positive that the Bangladeshi authorities are taking steps in this direction.
But many credible organizations including Amnesty International and the UN have
raised serious and important issues around the fairness of the ICT trials which
have not been addressed.
"Tuesday's decision comes at a politically sensitive time for Bangladesh, and
all sides must ensure calm prevails across the country. Security forces should
ensure that the right to peaceful protest is respected, while political leaders
on all sides should call on their supporters to refrain from human rights
abuses," said Champa Patel.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception
regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or
the method used by the state to kill the prisoner.
Background
At least 197 people were sentenced to death in Bangladesh in 2015, including 4
people sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).
Bangladesh carried out 4 executions in 2015, three of whom were sentenced by
the ICT.
The ICT is a Bangladeshi court set up by the Government in 2010 to investigate
mass scale human rights violations committed during the Bangladeshi 1971
Independence War. Amnesty International welcomed the Government's move to bring
those responsible to justice, but insisted that the accused should receive fair
trials without recourse to the death penalty. The proceedings of the Tribunal
in previous cases were marked with severe irregularities and violations of the
right to a fair trial.
During Motiur Rahman Nizami's trial the prosecution was allowed to call on 22
witnesses, while the defence was arbitrarily limited to only 4. According to
Nizami's legal team, the defence was also prevented cross-examining a key
prosecution witness. The defence team was also only given 3 weeks to prepare
for trial, while the prosecution were granted 22 months to conduct their
investigation.
(source: Amnesty International)
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