HRDB NEWSLETTER

Human Rights and Development for Bangladesh Newsletter

13 December 2015

Bangladesh:

Pushing for Another Death Penalty

Following three executions this year alone, Bangladesh
keeps pushing for another death penalty for Motiur
Rahman Nizami, chief of the countrys largest Islamic
political party Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI).
Nizami was a Cabinet minister during for- Amnesty International, The International
mer Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's last term Center for Transitional Justice, the Interin 2001-2006.
national Bar Association, No Peace without Justice, the United States AmbassaThe Appellate Division of the Supreme dor-at-Large for War Crimes Stephen
Court has fixed January 6 for delivering its Rapp, Members of the United States Converdict on an appeal filed by war crimes gress, Members of the British Governaccused Motiur Rahman Nizami, challeng- ment, Members of the United Kingdom
ing his death penalty.
House of Lords and the Bar Human Rights
Committee of England and Wales. The
The International Crimes Tribunal on Oc- United Nations Working Group on Arbitober 29, 2014 awarded Nizami the death trary Detention has declared the process
penalty on four charges of war crimes, in breach of international law, and has
including murdering intellectuals, life im- referred the matter to the UN Special Rapprisonment on four other charges.
porteur on Torture.
Nizami filed appeal with the SC against The latest verdicts against for Motiur Rahthe tribunal verdict on November 23, man Nizami is no different.
2014. The trial against Nizami began on
May 28, 2012.
Through the Prism of Moral JusHe was arrested on July 29, 2010 on tice: Death Sentence of Nizami
charges of hurting religious sentiments.
After three days, he was shown arrested Apart from the general overall weaknessin a war crimes case.
es in the legislation (See: Implementation
of Rapp's Suggestions)1, in relation to
On December 11, 2012 the prosecution Nizami's trial, three immediate issues
brought 16 charges of crimes against hu- come to mind:
manity including conspiracy, planning,
complicity, incitement and active participa-
Charge no 16, one of the offences for
tion against the Jamaat leader.
which Nizami received the death sentence, was not part of the prosecuPreviously, three other party leaders of
tion's initial charge framing applicaBJI, Ali Ahsan M. Mujhid, Mr. Abdul Quadtion, but appears to have been added
er Mollah and Mr. Muhammad Kama(as seen from the e-mails leaked durruzzaman, were executed in similar fashing the 'skype' scandal)2 at the reion. This occurred despite repeated calls
quest of an outsider to the tribunal,
and diplomatic efforts, including from the
Ziauddin Ahmed, a legal academic
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, UN
who whilst advising the judges was
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and
also in touch with the prosecution.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Nizami's defence lawyers were only

Controversies over trial
allowed to call four witnesses in defence of 16 charges, whilst the proseInternational Human Rights groups that
cution was allowed over 20.
have spoken out against the judicial proceedings include Human Rights Watch,

Turning a blind eye to

the injustices currently
happening in
Bangladesh
is no longer an option.
Stop Judicial Killings.
Protect all human rights.
Form an international Tribunal under the auspices of the
United Nations to bring the
real culprits to justice rather
than falsely implicating and
incriminating leaders, scholars and personalities from
the opposition camp.
Above all stop the use of the
death penalty in all circumstances, even for the most
serious international crimes.

Human Rights and Development for Bangladesh Newsletter

13 December 2015

From front page ..

At least one prosecution witness,

Shamsul Huq Nannu, claimed in a
recorded interview that he was
briefed and coerced to give evidence against Nizami. (He subsequently denied that he ever gave
the videoed interview, but independent tests done on the voice recordings commissioned by the defence
suggested that it was the same person)

Whilst, in the end of course it is only

through a fair trial process that guilt can
properly be apportioned, the prism of
moral justice cannot simply be put to one
side.
Motiur Rahman Nizami was born in March 31, 1943 in District of Pabna ,

Who is Motiur Rahman Nizami?

Despite these criticisms, the Bangla- Bangladesh.

deshi government is still determined to
carry out these executions of opposition He was active in the Islamic movement from the very outset.
leaders.
In addition, disclosures from the international news media show that there is
overwhelming evidence of serious judicial and prosecutorial misconduct. The
government has conspired with members of the judiciary, and the prosecution, to bring about the desired result for
the conviction and execution of the leading members of Jamaat-e-Islami. The
tribunal has become a mockery of international law, and undermines all major
international instruments to protect fundamental human rights principles and
basic standards of justice.
1. Implementation of Rapp's Suggestions: http://
bangladeshwarcrimes.blogspot.ca/2011/12/
implementation-of-rappssuggestions_26.html
2. Skype Scandal: http://
bangladeshwarcrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/03/23dec-2012-skype-retrial-application.html
3. Restricting defence witness numbers:
http://
bangladeshwarcrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/11/aretribunals-justified-in-restricting.html
4. Prosecution witness briefed and coerced to give evidence against Nizami:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=mbB8QazT8jw
Read More: http://
bangladeshwarcrimes.blogspot.ca/2014/10/
initial-thoughts-on-nizamiconviction.html#more

He was elected President of the largest student organization of the subcontinent Jamiat-e-Talaba Pakistan from 1969 till September 1971. He
joined Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh in September 1971.
He discharged many responsibilities in Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami as a
president of Dhaka city Jamaat, Assistant Sec. General of Jamaat, in
1988 he became Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
In 1991 he was elected as a member of parliament and appointed as the
leader of Jamaat parliament party.
He played a critical role in the movement of the constitutional amendment
that reverted back the country to parliamentary democracy. He also
played a key role in the restoring the neutral caretaker government concept in constitution to conduct national election.
In 2000 he was elected as the Ameer (president) of Bangladesh Jamaate-Islami. In 2001 he was again elected as a Member of Parliament. He
served as Agriculture Minister in the government and subsequently
served as an Industry Minister.
During his tenure as an Agriculture Minister, he was praised nationally
and internationally for is honesty, hard work and dedication. Bangladesh
managed to achieve surplus in food supply during his tenure. During his
time as the Minister of Industries, for the first and only time in the history
of Bangladesh the state owned Sugar Mills made profit.
Motiur Rahman Nizami was chosen as 43rd most influential Muslim leader by Royal Islamic Strategic Center in 2009.
The Muslim 500 listed Motiur Rahman Nizami among the most influential
political leaders in 2016.

Human Rights and Development for Bangladesh (HRDB) / email: humanrightsbd@gmail.com