MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti) — The death sentence of former Jamaat-e-Islami party leader, convicted of war crimes during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence, should be deferred and a right to appeal be granted, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report Sunday.
"The death sentence against Muhammad Kamaruzzaman should immediately be stayed," the HRW report stated. "Kamaruzzaman should be granted a right to appeal against the death sentence.”
On November 3, the Bangladeshi Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for Kamaruzzaman, on charges of participating and planning unlawful killings of civilians during the 1971 war.
But the HRW said that there was limited defense evidence for Kamarruzaman's conviction and statements of critical witnesses were rejected by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).
“It is particularly problematic when proceedings do not meet fair trial standards and where the right to appeal against a death sentence by an independent court is not allowed,” Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW was quoted as saying in the report, adding that the HRW opposed the death penalty in all circumstances.
According to the report, Kamaruzzaman was first arrested in July 2010 following the orders of the country’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) set up in 2009 to investigate war crimes committed during the war. Later in May 2013, he was sentenced to death.
Kamaruzzaman’s death sentence is the third given within a week in relation to war crimes in Bangladesh.
The 1971 war, also known as the Bangladesh Liberation War, was the independence war which led to the establishment of the nation, formerly East Pakistan. The war led to the death of thousands of people, of which the exact number is not known.
