Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party has called a 48-hour national strike after the country’s apex court Tuesday morning awarded the death penalty to a high-ranking leader for war crimes, including mass killings.<\/p>\n
Hours after the appellate division of the supreme court awarded the capital punishment to assistant secretary general of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party Abdul Quader Mollah, it called a 48-hour nationwide strike Sep 18-19, Xinha reported.<\/p>\n
The party has called the strike protesting what it referred to as “the government hatching conspiracy to kill its leaders and running anti-Islamic activities, state-sponsored repression”.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Jamaa said the 48-strike has been called to also demand the release of its leaders including Mollah.<\/p>\n
The apex court verdict came more than seven months after a special tribunal, set up to try those allegedly involved in war crimes during the south Asian country’s nine-month liberation war in 1971, sentenced the leader to life term imprisonment.<\/p>\n
After the International Crimes Tribunal-2 sentenced Mollah to life imprisonment Feb 5 for his war crimes, hundreds of people, mostly pro-ruling party men, flocked to Shahbag square, an iconic place in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, demanding death penalty for crimes against humanity in 1971.<\/p>\n
The demonstration, which soon transformed into a people’s movement and spread across the country and among Bangladeshis living abroad, forced the government to amend the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act-1973 Feb 17 to ensure the rights of the state to appeal on behalf of the war crimes victims of 1971.<\/p>\n
The state March 3 appealed to the apex court against Mollah’s sentencing, claiming that the punishment was inadequate, and sought the death penalty.<\/p>\n
The defence appealed a day later seeking acquittal from all charges.<\/p>\n
The five-member bench of the appellate division headed by chief justice Mohammad Muzammel Hossain pronounced the first war crimes verdict of the supreme court at a jam-packed court room in the presence of a huge crowd of people, particularly journalists and lawyers amid beefed up security measures.<\/p>\n
Mollah, who is now behind the bar, was indicted in May last year with six specific charges for his alleged involvement in murders and mass killings in 1971.<\/p>\n
He was acquitted from one of the six charges.<\/p>\n
Chief defence counsel Abdul Razzaq termed the verdict “wrong” and said a review petition would be filed within 30 days of receiving the full verdict.<\/p>\n
He said there was no such example of the supreme court giving the death sentence after the trial court had given a life sentence.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said there was no scope for filing a review petition.<\/p>\n
“My opinion is that this is the final verdict and the legal process ends. He (Mollah) can only seek clemency from president,” Alam said<\/p>\n
Razzaq, also an assistant secretary general of Jamaat, could not tell immediately whether presidential pardon would be sought.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami League (AL) party and its allies have expressed deep satisfaction with the apex court verdict.<\/p>\n
The verdict had reflected the people’s expectations and it could possibly be executed within the tenure of this government ending next month, said AL spokesman Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif.<\/p>\n
But in protest against the verdict, Jamaat burst into violent protests.<\/p>\n
Party activists fought pitched battles with police in the southeastern port city of Chittagong among other places in the country.<\/p>\n
TV footage showed stone-throwing Jamaat activists fighting with law enforcers in Chittagong and setting a police vehicle and a private car ablaze.<\/p>\n
Jamaat is a key ally of former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s main opposition alliance which has been waging protests, demanding the restoration of the non-party caretaker system to oversee the next general elections slated for early 2014.<\/p>\n
(Source: IANS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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