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Situation tense after Bangladesh executes convicted war criminals

Church officials don't support death penalty, but say justice has been served
Situation tense after Bangladesh executes convicted war criminals

Supporters of the war crimes trial celebrate outside Dhaka's central jail after the executions of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury on Nov. 22. (Photo by Hasan Raja)

Published: November 23, 2015 07:07 AM GMT
Updated: November 22, 2015 08:26 PM GMT

Security forces in Bangladesh were on high alert Nov. 23 amid threats of violence from hard-line Islamists following the execution of two senior opposition leaders at the weekend.

Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, 67, former secretary-general of the hard-line Islamic Jamaat-e-Islami party, and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, 66, a senior figure in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the country's second-largest party, were both hanged in a Dhaka jail on Nov. 22.

The executions were carried out after President Abdul Hamid rejected their pleas for clemency.

However, the executed men's families denied they had appealed to the president for mercy, as this would have meant an admission of guilt.

In 2013, both were sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic court prosecuting politicians for alleged wartime abuses committed during the country's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

The court found Mujaheed and Chowdhury guilty of various war crimes including abduction, torture, rape and murder during the war.    

On Nov. 18, the Supreme Court dismissed their final judicial appeal against the death sentences, paving the way for their execution.

Jamaat reacted angrily to Mujaheed's execution and called for a nationwide strike on Nov. 23.

"Our leader Mujaheed was murdered by the government for political vengeance," Jamaat's acting chief, Mokbul Ahmad, said in a Nov. 22 statement.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, meanwhile, said Chowdhury was "denied justice."

The government has deployed thousands of police and border guards across the country to avert possible violence.

Police patrol in front of Dhaka's central jail ahead of the execution of war crimes convicts Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury on Nov. 22. (Photo by Hasan Raja)

 

In Dhaka, many businesses and offices were closed Nov. 23 and fewer vehicles were on the streets as the Jamaat strike took hold. No violence has been reported from other parts of the country so far.

"Many security measures are in place to ensure people's safety. We have dealt with similar situations in the past, and we can do it now," Dhaka police spokesman Muntasirul Islam said Nov. 22.

Supporters of the war crimes tribunal welcomed the executions.

"They committed the most heinous of crimes during the war, and for so long they thought they would never face prosecution for them," said Shahriar Kabir, a journalist, writer and filmmaker.

"Their trial and execution is a step forward for justice and the rule of law," said Kabir, president of the Committee for Secular Bangladesh and Trials of War Criminals of 1971, a group that has long campaigned for war crimes trials.

With these trials and executions the government has helped the nation shake off "a gross nation shame," according to Catholic rights activist Rosaline Costa.

"Despite national and international pressure, the government can be credited for its commitment to justice in these war crimes trials. The executions prove that no one is above the law no matter how powerful they are," said Costa, coordinator of the Hotline Human Rights Trust.

The Catholic Church and its teachings don't support the taking of lives, but also call for justice, said Bishop Gervas Rozario of Rajshahi, chairman of the bishops' Justice and Peace Commission.

"We can't support the death penalty, but the church always reminds us about justice. One who commits crimes deserves punishment, so it has been done here according to public demand and due legal process," said Bishop Rozario.

"The trials were necessary for the healing of people who suffered so much during the war. It shows truth and justice must prevail even if it takes a long time," he said.

Criticism 

The Nov. 22 executions drew swift condemnation from Pakistan.

"We have noted with deep concern and anguish the unfortunate executions of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party Leader, Mr. Salauddin Quadir Chowdhury and Mr. Ali Ahsan Mujaheed. Pakistan is deeply disturbed at this development," it said in a Nov. 22 statement.

Bangladesh replied by summoning the Pakistani ambassador, Shuja Alam later in the day to the Foreign Ministry to present him with a protest note, local media reported.

Rights groups say the war crimes tribunal fails to meet international standards while Bangladeshi opposition parties say it is being used to purge them of their leaders.

 

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