Bangladesh: Three killed in violence over Molla execution order

At least three people were killed including a woman and her daughter as violence raged in different parts of the country on Tuesday protesting against the government’s order to execute Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla.

Panic spread all over the country including the capital as activists of Jamaat-Shibir went berserk in several districts torching Awami League leaders’ residences and vandalising scores of vehicles.

Meanwhile, Jamaat again called a nationwide a dawn-to-dusk general strike for today.

New Age Gazipur correspondent reported that a woman and her daughter were burnt to death and three others suffered burns as miscreants torched a covered van in the Bypass area of Vogra around 10:00pm.

The deceased were identified as Sumi Akhter, 28 and her daughter, Sanjida, 8. 

Abdul Baten, superintendent of Gazipur police, said Sumi including her family were heading towards Bogra from Rupganj. 

As the van reached the Bypass area, the miscreants set it on fire hurling petrol bombs.

New Age correspondent in Feni reported that a Shibir activist, Salman, 20, was shot dead by police at Shanti Company of the Feni city around 10:30pm. 

Witness said the activists tried to block the roads in the area with logs. Police tried to foil their blocked as they hurled crude bombs at police. 

Police then opened fire on the activists, leaving one dead, said Feni additional SP Shamsul Alam. 

In the capital, a number crude bombs were exploded near a Ganajagaran Mancha gathering.

No casualties were reported in the incident.

Four bombs were exploded near the Dhaka Central Jail around 9:45pm in front of Nirob Hotel, about 50 yards off the central jail boundary.

There were no reports of casualties, Abul Hasan, inspector (investigation) at Bangsal police station, said.

A number of vehicles were torched at Jatrabari and other parts of the capital.

The activists set fire to the residence of Gibandha-3 constituency lawmaker TIM Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury.

The activists torched around 20 vehicles in Lohagara and Satkania of Chittagong.

The Shibir men blasted bombs at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. (source) 

Bangladesh: UK, EU oppose Molla’s death penalty

The United Kingdom and the European Union on Tuesday opposed the execution of the death penalty of Jamaat leader Abdul Qader Molla.

In a statement, senior British foreign office minister Baroness Warsi said that she was deeply concerned at reports of plans to execute Abdul Qader Molla. ‘The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle.’

‘We consider that its use undermines human dignity and that there is no conclusive evidence of its deterrent value.’

‘We further note that Abdul Qader Molla was sentenced to death following an appeal permitted under retrospectively applied legislation, and that he was not permitted to review his sentence before the Supreme Court.’

‘Bangladesh’s commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) require that all citizens be treated equally before the law.’

‘The UK calls again for Bangladesh to implement a moratorium on the death penalty leading to the eventual abolition of the death penalty.’

In another statement, the EU heads of mission in Dhaka said that they were opposed to the use of capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances and had consistently called for its universal abolition.

It said that the European Union had followed the judicial proceedings in Bangladesh concerning the crimes committed during the war preceding the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.

From the start of the trials, the European Union has repeatedly voiced its concern about the possible application of the death penalty under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act.

The statement said the case of Abdul Quader Molla had now reached a stage where an execution of the death sentence given by the Supreme Court on September 17 could be imminent.

The European Union notes the concerns that have been expressed by the United Nations special rapporteurs on independence of judges and lawyers and on summary executions regarding the lack of opportunity for appeal or review of the sentence.

The European Union calls for these concerns to be addressed before taking the process further.

In this context, the EU iterates its position regarding the recent death penalties issued by the International Crimes Tribunal and the Supreme Court as well as the 152 death sentences that were recently handed down in the trial following the BDR mutiny in 2009.

The European Union calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to commute these sentences and to introduce a moratorium on executions as a first step towards definitive abolition of capital punishment. (source) 

Bangladesh: 20 children die in political violence in 2013

Scores of children fell victim to political violence in 2013, with at least 20 dying and many others still fighting for life as political parties continued to use children in demonstrations, according to rights watchdog Ain o Salish Kendra and New Age reports.

At least 6 out of 20 have died since November 8 when the BNP-led opposition alliance started enforcing general strikes and blockades of road, railway and waterways.

The use of children in political programmes, especially in picketing, has increased in recent times, putting their lives at risk and violating child rights, activists said.

Ain o Salish Kendra and New Age reports find that till December 9, at least 20 children died in demonstrations, arson attacks, the explosion of crude bombs while playing, gunfight between two fractions of the ruling Awami League’s associate organisations, picketing during strikes and other incidents.

In the latest incident, 10-year-old schoolboy Alamgir Rahman Sumon died after being caught in a gunfight between the police and BNP and Jamaat activists in Sirajganj on December 9.

Fifteen-year-old bus assistant Mohammad Hasan died on December 5 when he was burnt in a petrol bomb attack on a bus at Syedabad.

In Sathkhira, 14-year-old Hosain Ali and 16-year-old Arijul Islam died when the police fired into pickets during blockade on December 3. Chhatra Shibir claimed the deceased to be its activists.

Nahid Morol, 18, of Madaripur, died on November 29 suffering from the burn injures he sustained in an arson attack on a bus near Shishu Park in Dhaka the previous day.

Schoolboy Monir Hossain, 16, died on November 7 three days after he had suffered burn injuries as pickets burnt a covered van in Gazipur on November 4.

On October 28, Md Arzu, 16, died in a clash between pickets and law enforcers in Chandpur. Chhatra Dal claimed that Arzu was its activist.

Arman, 8, died in a gunfight between Awami League fronts the Chhatra League and the Juba League in a railway tender brawl in Chittagong on June 24.

Hafezia (Class IX) student Mahmudul Hasan Zubair died killed in clashes between Hefazat-e-Islam and the police on May 5. Muktar Hossain, 15, o9f Narsingdi also died in the same incident on the day.

Kulsum Akter, 9, and Riya Akter, 4, died in a bomb explosion at Mirpur n the capital on March 24.

On March 3, Mahfuj Hossain, 15, in Sirajganj and Nasiruddin, 16, in Jaipurhat, died when pickets and lawmen clashed. Shahidul Islam, 15, in Chittagong died during picketing on March 2.

Sajjad Hossain, 17, in Cox Bazar, Akmal Hossain, 14, in Rangpur and Qurban Ali, 17, in Noakhali, died in strike violence on February 28.

Seventeen-year-old Abdullah died in violence in Bogra on January.

Rabbi, 12, died after being caught in crossfire during a factional clash of the Chhatra League at Bangladesh Agricultural University in Mymensingh on January 19.

The Children Act 2013 defines child as an individual aged up to 18 years. 

The Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum director, AS Mahmud, said that nobody had hesitated to use children to their gains. Hefazat-e-Islam, Shahbagh protests and political parties all had used children.

Political leaders, he said, use street children in picketing during general strikes. Children are also used in violent activities such as starting fire on roads and damaging business establishments and vehicles.

‘We have never heard someone being punished for forcing children into such situations,’ he said.

Witnesses said that a huge number of children had been there in the Hefazat programme on May 5. Children were also used as ‘human shields’ in protests taking place in the north and the south after International War Crimes Tribunal 1 had sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami’s nayeb-e-amir Delwar Hossain Sayedee to death.

The media also reported that students were being lined along roads in a show of popular support for any initiatives or leaders, including the prime minister.

Witnesses said that many children had also shouted slogans crying out for the execution of war criminals at Shahbagh protests.

Child rights campaigners said that the use of children was a clear violation of child rights. Article 6.7.4 of the National Children Policy 2011 stipulates: ‘The children cannot be used in the political activity, neither they could be lured and compelled to be involved in such activity.’

The Dhaka University clinical psychology department chair, SM Abul Kalam Azad, said that children ‘trapped in violence’ could suffer from acute fear, sustain trauma for long and post-traumatic stress disorders if not treated properly.

‘It is really worrying that 20 children died falling in political violence in a year,’ Shabnaaz Zahereen, a child specialist at UNICEF, said. Law enforcement agencies should play the vital role in ending the use of children for political purposes.

She said that UNICEF was worried about children being caught in recent violent protests and the continued use of children in demonstrations by political parties in Bangladesh. 

Ain o Salish Kendra’s executive director Sultana Kamal said that the frequent use of children for political purposes violated violating child rights and put them at risk.

The inspector general of police, Hasan Mahmud Khandkar, said that they were aware about children being use in politics and a social awareness was needed to stop this.

‘It is our duty to ensure the security of all citizen including children… We are trying to do that,’ he said.

The women and children affairs secretary, Tariq-ul-Islam, said that they did not want any children falling victim to political violence. ‘Concerted efforts of guardians, teachers and others are needed to keep children off political activities.’ (source)

Bangladesh: Jamaat man killed on 4th day of blockade

At least one person was killed and 130 others were injured as sporadic street violence and fighting between protesters and police and Ruling party men at places marked the fourth day of the 144-hour road-rail-waterway blockade on Tuesday. 

The capital virtually remained cut off from the rest of the country due to the protracted blockade to press for a non-party neutral administration to oversee the general elections.

A Jamaat-e-Islami leader was killed in clashes with local traders led by Awami League activists in Raninagar of Naogaon during the Jamaat-enforced hartal alongside the blockade while a BNP activist died of brain haemorrhage while shouting slogans in support of the blockade in Khulna.

Alongside the blockade, Jamaat-e-Islami enforced a daylong hartal in protest at the death warrant against its assistant secretary general Abdul Quader Molla.

New Age correspondent in Naogaon reported that Jamaat activist Shukbar Ali, 25, died in the afternoon from head injuries he had suffered in the morning in clashes with local traders led by Awami League activists, said Naogaon superintendent of police Quamuzzaman Khan.

Witnesses said the local traders and AL activists had put up resistance when the Jamaat men started vandalising shops in Abadpukur of Raninagar. The clashes left Shukbar, among 19 others, injured. 

Shukbar died on way to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, said local Jamaat ameer Mostafa.

New Age correspondent in Khulna reported that a BNP activist, Helal, had suffered brain haemorrhage while shouting slogans in a procession at Goalkhali in the city. He died on way to hospital.

Our correspondent in Rajshahi reported that at least 40 Jamaat-Shibir men and four police personnel were injured in violent clashes at Binodpur Bazar in the city in the morning.

Motihar police officer-in-charge Abdul Majid was critically injured in the clashes.

In Laxmipur, at least 10 people were injured in clashes between AL-backed Juba Leage and BNP-supported Juba Dal at Meghna Bazar in sadar upazila of the district, reported our correspondent.

Witnesses said that Juba League activists had obstructed a procession of Juba Dal that led to the clashes.

In Sylhet, Jamaat activists torched a police car in Shibganj in the city. They also vandalised a truck from a sudden procession in the morning in Majumdari area.

Sylhet police assistant commissioner Rukon Uddin said Jamaat-Shibir men had attacked a police patrol and set it on fire before fleeing the scene. Locals doused the flames.

Police arrested 17 pickets, including 15 Shibir men and two BNP activists in the city.

Police also seized huge books and documents from a residence at Paira near the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal in the morning.   

In Chandpur, at least 10 BNP activists were injured when police opened fire to break up a procession at Ghagra on the Kachua-Dhaka highway around midday.

Witnesses said that the blockaders had hurled stones after the police chased the procession. Police fired several rounds leaving 10 protesters injured.

BNP activists also put blockade in the confluence of  Meghna by anchoring boats across the river for one hour and a half. Police and coast guard were dispatched to the spot.

In Narayanganj, At least 20 activists of BNP and Chhatra Shibir were injured in separate clashes with the police at Kashipur Hatkhola and Isdair of Fatulla.

Witnesses said that BNP activists had brought out a procession at Hatkhola on Dhaka-Munshiganj road in the morning. The clashes broke out when the police chased them to clear the highway.

Ten people were injured in the police action.

The clashes between police and Shibir men in Isdair area also left 10 people injured when police opened fire.

In Dinajpur, at least 30 BNP-Jamaat activists were injured in clashes with police after they tried to put blockade on railway in Nimnagar area in the morning.

Witnesses said police had fired rubber bullets to disperse the opposition activists when they tried to block the track.

In Satkhira, Jamaat-Shibir activists blasted several crude bombs and burnt tyres on road at Kadamtala in the morning. They also disrupted traffic on Jessore-Satkhira road by putting up blockade, reported our correspondent.

In Natore, Juba Dal and Chhatra Dal activists blocked the Dhaka-Natore highway by burning tyres at Sujan Chattar of the town before police dispersed them, reported our correspondent.

In Jessore, BNP activists brought out a procession carrying the coffin of Chhatra Dal leader Kabir Hossain Palash who was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Monday.

District unit JCD has called daylong shutdown for Wednesday protesting at the killing.

Police arrested panel mayor of Chapainawabganj municipality Abul Hasan, also nayeb-e-amir of the local unit of Jamaat, at his residence at Haripur on Tuesday afternoon. In protest, Jamaat called a half-day hartal in the district for Wednesday.

In the capital Dhaka, blockaders exploded crude bombs in different areas during the blockade.

No long-route buses left or entered the city while traffic in the city was thinner than usual.

Violence, arson and attacks on vehicles were also reported from Chittagong, Chapainawabganj, Magura, Rangamati, Meherpur and Chuadanga. (source) 

Bangladesh: AL, BNP agree to continue with talks: UN official

The ruling and the opposition party, which met under a UN mediation on Tuesday, agreed to continue with dialogues in the spirit of goodwill and compromise and work together constructively to ease tension and build confidence, UN assistant secretary general Oscar Fernández-Taranco said.

Fernández-Taranco made the announcement at the Sonargaon Hotel in the evening after a meeting with delegations of the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in a house at Gulshan in the capital in the afternoon.

The Awami League’s general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and he acting BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir led the party delegations to the meeting.

Fernández-Taranco said that he had extended his tour of Dhaka by 24 hours and he would be able to answer all questions at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

‘Today represents an important moment in the current context… I want to take the opportunity to applaud the decision to sit down and seize this important opportunity. This shows the political leadership’s responsibility and courage. It is also an answer to the expectations of the people of Bangladesh,’ he said.

The visiting UN team after meeting major political parties and election stakeholders on Monday night could convince both the parties to sit across the table. 

The meeting was held in a house at Gulshan where Syed Ashraful Islam, Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Gowher Rizvi were on the Awami League side and 

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, Abdul Moin Khan and Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury were on the BNP side.

Sources in both the parties said they had softened their previous stance at the meeting but details of the meeting could not be immediately known.

Immediately after the meeting, all the BNP leaders went to the party chief’s house to inform Khaleda Zia of the meeting outcome.

The BNP in a statement said that the meeting had been held at the house of Neal Walker, the UN resident coordinator in Dhaka. It said that both the parties had agreed to continue with dialogues to hold free, fair, acceptable and inclusive elections.

The BNP also thanked the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon for initiating a move to end the ongoing uncertainty. 

BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain at night told reporters there were introductory discussions between the two parties at the meeting with the Awami League to find out a solution to the present crisis before of the next general elections and the discussion would continue.

The next round of discussion would be held very soon, Mosharraf said hoping that it might be mediated by the UN resident coordinator in Dhaka.

Asked whether the elections schedule would be changed, Mosharraf said that primary discussions had taken place on Tuesday and it was not an appropriate time to comment on it.

Asked about what was discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, he said that they discussed how to hold free, fair, credible and inclusive elections by creating a level playing field for all.

The Awami League in a statement said that the AL delegation urged the BNP to stop enforcing general strike, blockade, damaging public property, killing people in arson attacks and bombings and to ensure security of lives and property of people to create a congenial atmosphere for dialogues. The Awami League said that no discussion would become fruitful if such anarchy was not stopped. 

The statement, signed by the party’s office secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap, said that the BNP at the meeting had demanded release of its detained leaders and activists and raised the issue of the election-time government. 

In reply, the Awami League delegation said that the detained leaders of the BNP would be released and discussion on election-time government could be held only if the BNP could ensure that they would stop their subversive activities in the name of enforcing strike and blockade.

The Jatiya Party in a letter to the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon requested the UN to play a role in constituting a polls-time government headed by a person acceptable to all. 

The party chairman, HM Ershad, requested the UN secretary general to ensure a UN role in holding inclusive elections, Bobby Hajjaj, special adviser to HM Ershad, told New Age on Tuesday.

The letter was handed to members on the UN team that Fernández Taranco is leading, Hajjaj claimed.

The UN move to mediate among parties followed violent demonstrations because of the rigid stance by both the ruling and the opposition camp over the next parliamentary elections. 

Fernández-Taranco met the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in the parliament,, the chief election commissioner and other political leaders.

He wanted to know whether it would be possible to defer the polls schedule and the chief election commissioner told him that it was possible if the UN could broker a consensus between the ruling and the opposition camp.

With the elections less than a month away, scheduled for January 5, the Jatiya Party, a key partner in the ruling Awami League alliance until recently, announced a boycott of the elections saying that if all parties did not join, elections would no be acceptable. (source)

Bangladesh: Molla execution stayed

Appellate Division Chamber Judge Syed Mahmud Hossain in a sudden move on Tuesday night stayed the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla until 10:30am today.

‘The execution has been stayed. The full bench of the Supreme Court will sit at 10:30am [today] to hear the matter of a stay application which has been filed by the defence before the chamber judge,’ Supreme Court registrar AKM Shamsul Islam, told New Age last night.

The stay order was issued hours after the government had ordered the jail authorities to execute Quader Molla, convicted of committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, after midnight past Tuesday. 

Attorney general Mahbubey Alam expressed his surprised at the news of the stay order. ‘I was not at home in the evening. I came to know about the stay order in television news after returning home. I am surprised. I do not want to make comments at the moment,’ the attorney general told New Age.

Quader Molla’s lawyers rushed to Justice Mahmud’s Kakrail residence in the evening with the stay petition shortly after the government announced that the Jamaat leader would be hanged one minute after midnight past Tuesday.

The lawyers led by Abdur Razzaq went to the jail gate with a copy of the stay order and handed it over to the prison authorities. 

Forman Ali, senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, late Tuesday night told reporters that they had received the copy of the stay order and taken steps accordingly.  

Earlier on the day, the home minister had said that the execution would be done one minute after midnight past Tuesday. 

‘War crimes convict Quader Molla will be executed tonight. The jail authorities have taken all preparations,’ state minister for home Shamsul Haque told a press briefing on Tuesday evening. 

At a briefing at the ministers’ apartment in the city, state minister for law Quamrul Islam said, all legal options had already been exhausted. 

‘When offered, Quader Molla refused to seek clemency in front of two magistrates. Moreover, we had thought defence lawyers would file an application seeking a review [of the Appellate Division] judgment before the chamber judge. But they did not avail of that opportunity in last three days,’ the junior minister said, also stating the war crimes convict had no such legal rights.

Forman Ali, senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, said that five hangmen were kept ready to execute Quader Molla one minute after midnight past Tuesday. 

Family members went to the jail at 8:00pm and met Quader Molla after  the government decided to execute his death warrant without applying the jail code.

‘He [Quader Molla] told us that he would be hanged for his involvement in Islamic movement. He requested us to have patience,’ Quader’s eldest son Jamil Ahsan told reporters after coming out of the jail at 8:50pm.

Inspector general of prisons Moin Uddin Khandaker said that the jail code would not apply in the case of Quader Molla. 

Border Guard Bangladesh personnel were deployed to the city as security was heightened before the execution.  

Prime minister’s adviser Shafique Ahmed held a meeting behind closed doors with the state minister for home, the state minister for law, the inspector general of police and the IG (prisons) to examine the legal aspects of execution of the death warrant against Quader Molla.   

After meeting his father, Jamil Ahsan told New Age that a deputy jailer with a letter had visited 

their Maghbazar residence in the capital after asar prayers. 

The letter only asked them to be present at the jail gate by 8:00pm Tuesday to meet his father, Jamil said.    

In the morning, chief defence counsel Abdur Razzaq with lawyer Tajul Islam met Quader Molla, who instructed the lawyers to file a petition to the Appellate Division seeking review of his death sentence.

After the meeting, Abdur Razzaq in a news briefing said that Quader Molla would get 15 days to petition for presidential clemency. The 15 days, according to the latest jail code, would be counted from December 9 when Quader was informed about the death warrant.

Razzaq said he had advised Quader to seek presidential mercy, if he so wished, on December 21 or 22 before the 15-day time limit would expire on December 23.

He said they expected to meet Quader Molla on December 21 or 22.

In their next meeting, Quader is expected to inform the lawyers whether he would go for presidential clemency, Razzaq said.   

Razzaq alleged that Quader was not provided with the copy of the Appellate Division’s verdict on his death sentence.   

‘Quader Molla told us that he was innocent and that he had not committed any crime. The attempts to hang him are being made to eliminate the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami,’ said Razzaq.

At a separate briefing, the Dhaka Central Jail’s senior superintendent said that immediately after receiving a warrant for execution from the International Crimes Tribunal 2 on December 8, he had asked Quader Molla if he wanted to submit a petition for presidential mercy.

‘But he [Quader] did not clearly say anything,’ he said.     

Forman Ali refuted the defence lawyer’s claims that Quader Molla would get 15 days to file petition for presidential clemency. 

He said the 15-day time, as stated in the 2010 amended jail code, would not be applicable as the amendment had not been approved by the government.        

Forman Ali, however, suggested application of the old jail code which stated that the mercy petition must be submitted in writing within seven days from the date of intimation of condemned convict concerned.        

He said that the seven-day time period to submit a petition for mercy to the president had begun on December 8.

The senior superintendent, however, supported the opinion made by attorney general Mahbubey Alam and other government authorities to the media that the jail code and other criminal laws would not be applicable in case of execution of death warrant for war crimes.      

The Appellate Division on September 17 sentenced Quader Molla to death on a government appeal against the Tribunal 2 verdict that on February 5 had sentenced him to life in prison.

The five-member Appellate Division bench delivered a majority verdict of four judges to one.

The tribunal issued the death warrant after the full text of the appeals verdict had reached the tribunal from the Supreme Court on Sunday. The Supreme Court released the full text on December 5.

The appeals court sentenced Quader to death for killing six members of the family of Momena Begum at Mirpur in Dhaka on July 26, 1971, the offence for which he had earlier been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Quader Molla along with his cohorts had surrounded the house of Momena’s father Hazarat Ali Laskar, killed her parents, her minor brother and three minor sisters and raped one of them because Hazrat Ali was an Awami League supporter and admirer of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the verdict observed quoting Momena.

Sheikh Mujib is the founding president of Bangladesh.

The tribunal verdict that was delivered on February 5 triggered a youth uprising at Shahbagh in Dhaka that spread across the country, with thousands demanding that he should be hanged for his crimes.

Amid the protests, the government on February 18 amended the law to allow the state to appeal against an acquittal and inadequacy of the sentence the tribunal ordered.

The tribunal acquitted Quader Molla of one count of crimes, sentenced him to life in prison on two counts and to varying terms of imprisonment on three counts.

The appeals court sentenced him to death on one of the counts for which he had earlier been jailed for life.

The chief war crimes prosecutor, Golam Arief Tipoo, on March 3 filed an appeal against the 

‘inadequacy of the sentence’ of Quader Molla on five charges and against his acquittal of the other charge.

Quader Molla filed his appeal petition the next day seeking to be acquitted of all the charges. (source)

Bangladesh: Death warrant issued for Quader Molla

The International Crimes Tribunal’s registrar on Sunday issued the execution warrant for Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla on war crimes charges. 

The registrar, AKM Nasiruddin, told reporters in his office that he had issued the warrant about 4:00pm at the instruction of International Crimes Tribunal 2 after the Appellate Division’s verdict had reached the tribunal from the Supreme Court register’s office about midday.

The Appellate Division on September 17 sentenced him to death penalty on a government appeal against the Tribunal 2 verdict that on February 5 had sentenced him to life in prison.

The five-member Appellate Division bench delivered a majority verdict of four judges to one.

This is the first execution warrant for any convict among the nine — seven sentenced to death, one to life in prison, another to 90 years in prison on war crimes charges. Tribunal verdicts against five are still pending with the appeals court; three convicts are in hiding.

The tribunal issued the death warrant after the full text of the appeals verdict had reached the tribunal from the Supreme Court on Sunday. The Supreme Court released the full text on December 5.

The ICT registrar also said that copies of the warrant were served to the home affairs ministry, the Dhaka district magistrate and the Dhaka central jail.

Senior superintendent at the Dhaka central jail Forman Ali told New Age that he had received the warrant from the tribunal about 4:30pm.

‘A death warrant does not wrap up everything. We will take the next course of action in keeping with the law,’ Forman said.

Quader Molla’s defence team in a statement issued to the media said that their advocate-on-record Jainul Abedin had notified the attorney general’s office as part of the process of filing a petition for a revision of the Appellate Division’s verdict.

The statement said that it was Quader Molla’s right under Article 105 of the constitution to seek a revision of the Appellate Division verdict. ‘This constitutional right cannot be curtailed by any other law.’

It said that the warrant could only be executed following the Jail Code if the sentence is upheld after the disposal of the review petition or the expiry of 30 days that the defence is entitled to under the Appellate Division Rules to file the review petition.      

The authorities will need to take the responsibility if the sentence is executed hastily in violation of the stipulations laid out in the constitution and the law, the statement said.  

Quader’s Molla’s counsel Khandker Mahbub Hossain, Abdur Razzaq, Matiur Rahman Akond, Tazul Islam and Shishir Manir in an application to the jail superintendent also sought an appointment with the condemned prisoner for  December 10 to discuss the issue of filing a petition seeking to review the Appellate Division verdict.

The jail authorities are yet to make a decision on the matter, one of the five counsel said. 

The minister of state for law, Quamrul Islam, and the additional attorney general MK Rahman, also the chief coordinator of war crimes prosecutors, at a news briefing on Thursday, however, said that Quader could only seek presidential clemency and there was no scope in the ICT (Tribunals) Act 1973 for filing a petition seeking a review of the Appellate Division verdict.

Section 20 (3) of the ICT (Tribunals) Act 1973 states: ‘The sentence awarded under this act shall be carried out in accordance with the orders of the government.’

A five-member Appellate Division bench that the chief justice, Md Muzammel Hossain, presided over on September 17 overturned the tribunal verdict that on February 5 had sentenced Quader Molla to life in prison.

Three judges — Justice SK Sinha, Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah and Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury — wrote the 790-page full verdict the Appellate Division delivered. Of them, only Justice Wahhab Miah upheld the tribunal court verdict.

The appeals court sentenced Quader to death for killing six members of the family of Momena Begum at Mirpur in the capital city on July 26, 1971, the offence for which he had earlier been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Quader Molla along with his cohorts had surrounded the house of Momena’s father Hazarat Ali Laskar, killed her parents, her minor brother and three minor sisters and raped one of them because Hazrat Ali was an Awami League supporter and admirer of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the verdict observed quoting Momena.

Sheikh Mujib is the founding president of Bangladesh.

The tribunal verdict that was delivered on February 5 triggered protests first at Shahbagh in Dhaka and then elsewhere in the country, with thousands demanding that he should be hanged for his crimes.

Amid such protests, the government on February 18 amended the law to allow the state to appeal against an acquittal and inadequacy of the sentence the tribunal ordered.

The tribunal acquitted Quader Molla of one count of crimes, sentenced him to life in prison on two counts and to varying terms of imprisonment on three counts.

The appeals court sentenced him to death on one of the counts for which had earlier been jailed for life.

The chief war crimes prosecutor, Golam Arief Tipoo, on March 3 filed an appeal against the ‘inadequacy of the sentence’ of Quader on five charges and against his acquittal of the other charge.

Quader filed his appeal petition the next day seeking to be acquitted of all the charges. (source)

Bangladesh: Taranco asks EC if polls could be deferred

The visiting UN assistant secretary general Oscar Fernández-Taranco on Sunday inquired whether it was possible for the Election Commission to defer the polls after political parties and civic forum leaders preferred its rescheduling for an inclusive election. 

The chief election commissioner, Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, in reply to Fernández-Taranco’s quiry said that it could defer the election schedules by some days within the legal and constitutional framework if the United Nations could broker an agreement between the ruling and opposition camps.

A delegation of senior citizens also told Fernández-Taranco that the process for holding a unilateral election on January 5 should be stopped for a while and that still there was legal scope to defer the polls so that the election could be held with participation of all parties.

The CEC after a meeting with Fernández-Taranco said two weeks had passed since the election schedules were announced and the situation worsened as there was no progress towards a consensus between the rival camps.

Rakibuddin said he thought many things could be done if there was a consensus between the rival political parties but that should happen under the legal frameworks.

‘As the UN delegation is holding talks with all the stakeholders to find a way for a peaceful and inclusive election, we should not talk much right at the moment. We, rather, should wait with a hope for a solution,’ Rakibuddin told newsmen after his meeting with Fernández-Taranco. 

Senior jurist Kamal Hossain met Fernández-Taranco with a delegation of senior citizens at Sonargaon hotel where they told the UN assistant secretary general that ‘the train of a one-sided election should be stopped for a while.’

Emerging from the meeting with Fernández-Taranco, the delegation comprising senior jurist Kamal Hossain, jurist Shahdeen Malik, Citizens for Good Governance secretary Badiul Alam Majumder and former caretaker government adviser Jamilur Reza Chowdhury said the UN preferred an inclusive election and had not offered any formula. It wanted a homegrown solution to ensure a credible and non-violent election participated by all political parties, they added.

The delegation members said Fernández-Taranco had some queries over the country’s situation and they tried 

to explain but there was no discussion on caretaker government which was the prime demand of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies for joining the polls.

Two members of the delegation – Badiul Alam Majumdar and Shahdeen Malik – said there was no discussion on caretaker government in their hour-long meeting with Fernández-Taranco.   

‘Nobody wants a one-sided election. What is happening now is unexpected…We told them [UN team] that the train for holding a one-sided election should be stopped for a while,’ said Kamal Hossain after the meeting.    

Kamal said Fernández-Taranco wanted to know whether it was possible to defer the election schedule and in reply he said there was no legal bar to rescheduling the polls. ‘The chief election commissioner several times said he is ready to reschedule the polls if the parties reach an understanding. He had referred to “reaching an understanding” thrice in recent past,’ he added. 

‘We need a peaceful election. We must have the patience to have a peaceful election…They [UN] also want a peaceful and acceptable election with the participation of all,’ Kamal said. 

Shahdeen Malik said they wanted holding of a peaceful election with the participation of all like the past one held on December 29, 2008 which was contested by all parties and the turnout was above 87 per cent.

Jatiya Party secretary general ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader said the party had requested the United Nations to take initiatives for rescheduling of the polls so that all political parties could participate.

‘Our chairman [Ershad] told the UN team that Jatiya Party would contest the polls only if all political parties contest it,’ Hawlader told newsmen immediately after a meeting between Jatiya Party and Fernández-Taranco at the Baridhara office of HM Ershad.

‘Ershad reiterated that his party would contest the polls only if all political parties participate in it,’ Hawlader told newsmen.

‘Jatiya Party wants the UN to play a role,’ Hawlader said but did not explain the nitty-gritty of the ‘role’.

‘Election is not possible right now as the atmosphere is not conducive,’ said party presidium member GM Quader, also the minister for commerce.

Fernández-Taranco also met the Indian high commissioner in Dhaka, Pankaj Saran, at the high commission in Gulshan in the afternoon. 

He also met BNP vice-chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury in the evening at his house in Banani and talked for about an hour. 

After the meeting, Shamsher, also a former secretary for foreign affairs, told reporters that discussions were going on between BNP and the visiting UN team. He declined to divulge the contents of their discussion since ‘the matter is sensitive’.

Shamsher said that Fernández-Taranco had met BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Saturday and would meet her again on Monday. ‘Nothing more can be said right at the moment,’ he added.

A meeting between Fernández-Taranco’s and a Jamaat-e-Islami delegation was scheduled for the day but it was postponed. Jamaat’s assistant secretary general Abdur Razzaque said the meeting was postponed by the UN.

Fernández-Taranco arrived in Dhaka on Friday evening amid the country’s murky political situation that has cast a shadow on its January 5 general election.   

The UN envoy had meetings with prime minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia Saturday evening. (source)

Bangladesh: One killed on 2nd day of blockade

Sporadic clashes between the police and opposition activists, torching of vehicles and crude bomb blasts at places across the country marked the second day of the 72-hour rail-road-waterway blockade on Sunday leaving one killed.

Besides, another victim of bus arson by blockaders succumbed to her injuries in Savar on Sunday night.

Chhatra League activist Masud Ahmed, 24, who suffered severe injuries in clashes with blockaders at Sunamganj around noon on Sunday died at MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet at about 8:30pm, said the hospital’s on-duty doctor Md Rajib.

Rehana Akhter, who suffered appalling burns after blockaders set fire to a bus at Rajphoolbaria in Savar on December 2, died at the intensive care unit of Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar around 8:00pm on Sunday, hospital sources said. 

A daylong general strike in Dhaka and some districts, also called by the opposition alliance, coincided with the blockade. 

The blockade continued to disrupt communications between the capital and the rest of the country imposing a heavy toll on the economy and causing suffering to the people.

The blockade – third in a series in past couple of weeks enforced by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance – will end at 6:00am Tuesday if it is not extended further as done in the cases of the past two spells.

Besides, the Dhaka city unit of BNP and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal enforced a 12-hour hartal in the capital on the day in protest at the arrest of the city unit convener Sadeque Hossain Khoka and Chhatra Dal president Abdul Kader Bhuiyan.   

Opposition activists blasted crude bombs and marched in processions in different parts of the capital, including Uttar Badda, Naya Bazar and Basabo, and set a bus ablaze at Matuail in Demra around 6:00am.     

Activists of Jamaat-e-Islami clashed with the police at Bijaynagar Sunday night and torched a bus at Gulshan after it announced a daylong strike for today in protest against the issuance of death warrant for war crimes convict Abdul Quader Molla.

Reports from Barisal said pickets had set fire to a bus and an auto-tempo at Kalizira on the outskirts of the southern city and also tried to torch a truck a Rupatali but failed as their rivals chased them away.

Activists of the BNP-led alliance blocked roads, exploded crude bombs and held demonstrations on Nabagram road, Bogra road and Kawnia and BM College areas of the city in the morning. They also blocked Barisal-Dhaka highway, Barisal-Banaripara road and Barisal-Babuganj road at different points. 

The police also arrested city unit Chhatra Dal organising secretary Riazur Rahman Riaz on charge of vandalism.

In Sylhet, police picked up six activists of Swechchhasebak Dal and Chhatra Dal from a procession in front of Shahjalal’s shrine. The police chased the marchers as they were approaching Ambarkhana from Chowhatta area and arrested the six men. Pickets also vandalised nine CNG-run auto-rickshaws in different areas of the city. 

The correspondent in Lalmonirhat reported that police had arrested acting amir of Hatibandha unit Jamaat-e-Islami Hossain Ali and five more activists of Jamaat and BNP in connection with recent acts of railway sabotage in Hatibandha, Patgram and Kaliganj upazilas in the district.

Assistant superintendent of police in Lalmonirhat Mahfuzul Islam said those detained had been involved in the sabotage in Hatibandha and Kaliganj upazilas.

At least 10 people were injured as blockaders clashed with police at Sonaimuri in Noakhali when the police tried to disperse them in the morning.  

Reports from Laxmipur said that Jamaat-Shibir activists put barricades at different points on Laxmipur-Dhaka highway.

Blockaders vandalised a covered van of a courier service at Harishpur bypass crossing in Natore.   

They also blocked Bogra-Rangpur highway by burning tyres and putting logs at Matidali crossing.

In Narail, blockaders put up barricade at Taltala on Narail-Lohagara road and at Tolaram on Narail-Jessore road and blasted several crude bombs.   

Opposition activists also held a rally at Kadamtala on Satkhira-Jessore road and put barricade there.  (source) 

Bangladesh: Promotion in admin on hold

Promotions of several hundred officials to the rank of additional secretary and deputy secretary have been kept on hold, apparently in fear of adverse reactions in civil bureaucracy ahead of the 10th parliamentary polls.    

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, recently sent back a summary of the proposal for the promotion of around 90 joint secretaries to additional secretary amidst volatile political situation over the elections scheduled for January 5, 2014, said officials concerned. 

A group of aggrieved officials, who were either made officers on special duty or deprived of promotions allegedly on political considerations in last five years, on Sunday again called on public administration ministry senior secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder at the secretariat seeking redress. 

‘They have raised their demands for postings and promotions, but there are no vacancies for postings in the joint secretary level and above at the moment due to recent promotions in excess of the approved posts,’ Abdus Sobhan told New Age. 

A section of aggrieved officials in a kind of ‘showdown’ moved in the secretariat for the second time as the countdown to the national election began on November 25, a number of officers observed. 

The public administration ministry, meanwhile, has also prepared the list of about 300 senior assistant secretaries based on the recommendations of the Superior Selection Board for promotion to deputy secretary, allegedly to please a section of officials ahead of the polls. 

‘The lists of candidates for promotions to additional secretary and deputy secretary have been made on the basis of the SSB recommendations…The ministry is prepared to give the promotions anytime subject to the prime minister’s approval,’ Abdus Sobhan had said earlier. 

He agreed that the promotion might cause adverse reactions since all the aspirants would not be promoted at a time as there were no vacancies.    

Replying to a question, the secretary said that the promotion was a routine work of the public administration ministry and it had got nothing to do with the election.  

The Superior Selection Board led by cabinet secretary Mohammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan in the last month finalised the lists of around 80 joint secretaries, mostly from the 1984 batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service, and nearly 300 senior assistant secretaries, mostly from 20th BCS batch, for the promotions, a senior official said.

‘One of the main purposes of the planned promotions is to please a section of civil bureaucrats ahead of the national polls although there are no vacancies in the organogram. But it is now evident that many will be deprived again if the promotions are given at this moment,’ a senior official said.

He said that the aspirants including those who were left out earlier from the promotion process were mounting pressure on the government for the promotions.

The fresh promotion might fuel agitations in the administration ahead of the national polls scheduled for January 5, 2014, the officials involved in the promotion process told New Age. 

The latest bid at the fag end of the Awami League government’s five-year tenure and just ahead of the election has raised many eyebrows. The move came following a huge pressure from a section of officials known as loyal to the ruling quarter in the public administration, according to the officials.   

Sobhan Sikder said that the promotions were given recently beyond the formal structure in bureaucracy, in many cases on ‘humanitarian ground’ not on political considerations.  

On November 27, over 100 aggrieved officials, most of them have remained as OSDs in last five years, called on the cabinet secretary and the public administration ministry’s senior secretary.  

They pressed for overdue promotions and postings to create a level-playing field in administration just a couple of days after the Election Commission had declared the schedule for the national poll, officials said. 

There are already over 1,317 deputy secretaries against 830 approved posts as set out in the formal structure of the administration. In addition, there are around 1016 joint secretaries against 350 posts and 239 additional secretaries against 120 posts, according to official records. (source) 

Bangladesh: Jamaat calls hartal for today

The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has called nationwide dawn-to-dusk general strike for today protesting at ‘the government conspiracy to kill its assistant secretary general Abdul Quader Molla in a planned manner.’

The Islamist party called the general strike immediately after the International Crimes Tribunal in the afternoon issued a death warrant for Quader, who was sentenced to death by the Appellate Division on charge of crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the war of independence in 1971.

Calling for the shutdown in a statement, Jamaat acting secretary general Shafiqur 

Rahman alleged that the government was going to ‘kill Abdul Quader Molla to deflect people’s attention from the ongoing movement demanding non-party caretaker government to oversee the parliamentary polls.’

Alleging that the government did not follow the due legal process in trying Quader, the statement said, ‘The government will have to face dire consequences if it kills Quader Molla by trampling on the legal process and constitutional rights.’ (source) 

Bangladesh: AL candidates, grass-roots leaders want inclusive polls

Most of the Awami League’s incumbent lawmakers, candidates and grass-roots leaders want inclusive elections after resolution of the current political crisis.

As New Age spoke to least 50 AL leaders, mostly incumbent lawmakers, and candidates from across the country for the national polls scheduled for January 5, they said that the Election Commission should consider changing the polls schedule if the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and other parties agreed to join elections within the constitutional framework.

They also said that it would be difficult for the government to establish the elections as credible and acceptable if major political parties did not join the elections.

Most of the AL candidates feared whether they could conduct election campaigns and ensure voter turnout. They said that they might face strong resistance from the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami during campaigns and on the polling day.

Former Sylhet mayor Badruddin Kamran, also president of the Sylhet city Awami League, told New Age that the elections would not be acceptable and credible if there were no competition in the elections. 

‘So I personally want the elections to be inclusive. If required, the Election Commission should defer the polls schedule for this,’ he said. 

AL lawmaker Sanjida Khatun, also a candidate for the Dhaka 4 constituency, told New Age that she did not want to be elected unopposed.

‘I had two competitors. The commission has already cancelled the nomination of one of the candidates. If all the parties, including the BNP, had participated, there could have been a competition,’ she said. 

ASM Firoj, the AL candidate for the Patuakhali 2 constituency, said that there was no alternative to elections for the continuity of the democratic process but the elections must be participatory.

‘We never want one-sided elections. We are still hopeful about a resolution to the political crisis and the participation of all parties in the elections,’ he said. 

Iqbalur Rahim, the AL candidate for the Dinajpur 3 constituency, said that he was still hopeful about a consensus being reached among the parties. He said said that the AL-led government would need to hold the elections in the interest of the continuity of the democratic process but the elections would not be acceptable by keeping two major political parties — the BNP and the Jatiya Party — outside the electoral race.

‘I hope that the Jatiya Party would remain in the polls race and the BNP would also join the polls after reaching an understanding with the government,’ he said. 

An AL candidate from Rajshahi said that he had fears of more violence before the elections and was afraid of going to his constituency for campaigns as the BNP and Jamaat might attack ruling party men during the campaigns.

AL lawmaker Afaz Uddin Ahmed, whis is a candidate for the Kustia 1 constituency, said that they were making preparations for elections. ‘As part of our preparations, we have already asked grass-roots leaders and activists to convince people to go to the polling centres so that the democratic process could continue,’ he said.

The AL candidate of the Jessore 5 constituency Khan Tipu Sultan said that the elections would be held with more than 60 per cent voter turnout if HM Ershald-led Jatiya Party stayed in the race and the law enforcement agencies could ensure safety of voters.

A leader of Chittagong district Awami League said that it would not be wise for his party to hold elections without the Jatiya Party and the BNP.

‘The Awami League at least should try its best to convince Ershad to stay in the race even by meeting his demand. The elections will, otherwise, be one-sided and not acceptable,’ he said.

The Awami League’s candidate for the Bogra 5 constituency Habibur Rahman said they did not want violence and loss of lives and public property before and after the elections.

‘We want a permanent solution so that no violence can take place in future,’ he said adding that they were likely to face strong resistance from the BNP and Jamaat during campaigns if their participation in the elections could not be ensured.  (source) 

Bangladesh: JP to post resignations to PM

The Jatiya Party faction led by HM Ershad on Sunday said that the resignations of all its six ministers and an adviser to the prime minister would be posted to the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

‘We decided to sent the resignations to the prime minister by post for submission to the president as we had sought appointment with her, but got no response since Saturday,’ party secretary general Ruhul Amin Hawlader told reporters at party chairman Ershad’s Baridhara house.

Ruhul later at night met the president Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban. Coming out from Bangabhaban, he told reporters that the ministers belonging to his party would not attend the regular cabinet meeting today. 

He, however, declined to disclose anything discussed with president. 

According to Article 58(1) of the constitution, the office of a minister falls vacant if he resigns from office by placing his resignation in the hands of the prime minister for submission to the president.

Civil aviation and tourism minister Ruhul Amin Hawlader, health minister Rawshan Ershad, water resources minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, commerce minister GM Quader, youth and sports minister Mujibul Hoque Chunnu, state minister for women and children affairs, Salma Islam and prime minister’s adviser Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu already submitted their resignations to Ershad, said Ruhul.

Ershad, the deposed military dictator, on December 3, a day after the closure of submission of nominations for the 10th parliament elections scheduled for January 5, 2014, announced that his party would boycott the polls and asked his party candidates to withdraw their nominations.

On December 4, Ersahd asked his party leaders to quit the polls-time cabinet and from the post of adviser to the prime minister. 

Earlier on November 18, Ershad had announced that the party quitted the Awami League-led alliance and urged the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to join the election ‘to save the nation and to continue democratic process.’ 

On December 5, Ruhul, Quder, Mujibul and Salma submitted their resignations as ministers to Ershad and the party had then said that Ershad would sumbit them to the president seeing him at Bangabhaban.

Ershad, however, on December 6 asked the party minister and adviser to submit their resignations to the prime minister.

Rawshan, Anisul and Ziauddin were reportedly unwilling to resign. Ruhul claimed that Ershad already got their resignations too.

None of the seven ministers and adviser went to their offices on Sunday. ( source)