Dhaka, Dec 14 (The New Age): Amnesty International has said the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami leader
and war criminal Abdul Quader Mollah could trigger more violence with
the country’s minority Hindu community bearing the brunt.
Mollah, who
was also the Jammat’s assistant secretary general, was hanged at 10.01
pm on Thursday, hours after the country’s highest court dismissed his
petition to review his death sentence.
‘The execution of Abdul Quader
Mollah should never have happened. The death penalty is a human rights
violation and should not be used to punish other alleged human rights
violations,’ said Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International’s Bangladesh
Researcher, in a press release.
‘The country is on a razor’s edge at
the moment with pre-election tensions running high and almost non-stop
street protests. Mollah’s execution could trigger more violence with the
Hindu community bearing the brunt,’ Faiz said.
‘Bangladesh’s
minority Hindu community has been targeted in attacks this year
following an earlier ICT (International Crimes Tribunal) verdict, they
are at particular risk of violence now the execution has been carried
out,’ Faiz said.
‘The authorities must ensure that anyone at risk,
especially Hindus, are given the protection they need at this tense
time… It is also crucial that all politicians in Bangladesh make it
crystal clear to their supporters to refrain from human rights abuses
and that attacks on Hindu communities are unacceptable,’ Faiz added.