Feb. 18
BANGLADESH:
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdus Subhan to hang for war-time atrocities in Pabna
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 Chairman, Justice Obaidul Hassan, handed
down the maximum penalty on Wednesday.
With 6 of the 9 charges levelled by the prosecution having been proven beyond
any shred of doubt, Subhan was sentenced to be hanged till death.
The other 2 tribunal members, Justice Md Mujibur Rahman Mia and Justice
Shahinur Islam, were also present at the time of the sentencing - the 16th
conviction for crimes against humanity.
Subhan was the chief of Jamaat's Pabna unit and sat on the party's highest
policymaking body during the post-Liberation War era.
It came to light in the trial that Subhan, with Pakistani soldiers, had
indulged in murders, mass killings, arson and lootings once 'Operation
Searchlight' was launched on the night of Mar 25, 1971.
He is the 9th top Jamaat leader to be convicted for war crimes committed during
Bangladesh's war of independence from Pakistan.
Who is Subhan?
A former MP from Pabna town, Subhan was born on Feb 19, 1936, in the Tailakundi
village at Sujanagar.
His father was Sheikh Naimuddin, and mother, Nurani Begum.
In 1954, he passed the Kamil exams from the Aliya Madrasa in Sirajganj. He
later became the head Maulana of the same institution, and subsequently the
superintendent of the Ulot Senior Madrasa in Arifpur.
He was appointed the chief of the Pabna district unit of the Jamaat once it was
formed.
From 1962 to 1965 he was a member of the Provincial Council.
He contested in the 1970 election but lost to Awami League candidate Amjad
Hossain.
Subhan was the General Secretary and subsequently the Vice-President of the
'Peace Committee' in Pabna during the 1971 war, formed to help the Pakistani
forces in suppressing the freedom struggle of the Bengalis.
It was under his leadership that units of the Peace Committee, Razakars, Al
Badr, Al Shams, and Mujahid were formed in police station areas of Pabna
district.
Witnesses testified that Subhan orchestrated killings, loot, abductions, and
other atrocities in various villages with the help of these vigilante groups
and Pakistani soldiers.
Korban Ali, the 6th prosecution witness, identified Subhan standing in the dock
as the man who, brandishing a pistol, had rounded up villagers and shot them,
and told the Pakistani soldiers to shoot as well.
The tribunal was also told that, during the war, Subhan had prepared and
supplied to the Pakistani forces a list of local Awami League leaders and
activists and Hindus.
Sensing the fall of the Yahya Khan regime towards the end of the independence
struggle, he, along with Jamaat guru Golam Azam, went over to Pakistan.
Subhan later returned to Bangladesh following a change in the political
scenario and went on to become a member of parliament.
The case timeline
Investigation into Subhan's war crimes by the prosecution's investigating
officers Motiur Rahman and Md Nur Hossain began on Apr 15, 2012.
The charge-sheet against the Jamaat leader was filed on Sep 15, 2013.
He was arrested at the toll plaza of the Bangabandhu Bridge on Sep 20, 2012. He
was was later shown arrested in the war crimes case and sent to jail.
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 began Subhan's trial on Dec 31, 2013 on the
basis of 9 charges brought against him.
The case, however, was shifted to Tribunal-2 on Mar 27, 2014 before the
deposition by witnesses had begun.
The hearing got under way on Apr 1, 2014 with the opening arguments by
prosecutors Sultan Mahmud Simon and Rezia Sultana.
31 witnesses including investigators Motiur Rahman and Md Nur Hossain testified
for the prosecution.
On the other hand, the defence was unable to produce any witness, although 3
had been initially named.
The tribunal had kept the verdict pending after hearing ended on Dec 4, 2014.
The 16th verdict
The much-awaited trials for crimes against humanity committed during the war
began with the constitution of the International Crimes Tribunal on Mar 25,
2010.
The tribunal in the 1st verdict sentenced to death former Jamaat-e-Islami
member Abul Kalam Azad alias 'Bachchu Razakar' on Jan 21, 2013.
The collaborator of the Pakistani occupation army could not appeal against the
verdict as he was absconding.
In the 2nd verdict, delivered on Feb 5 the same year, Jamaat Assistant
Secretary General Abdul Quader Molla was awarded life term in jail.
The judgement triggered protests by youths at Dhaka's cultural hub, Shahbagh,
who thought the verdict was 'too lenient' and demanded maximum punishment for
Molla.
The protests were joined by tens of thousands, leading to the emergence of
secular platform Ganajagaran Mancha demanding capital punishment for all war
criminals.
The movement rippled across Bangladesh, forcing the government to amend the
tribunal law giving the prosecution a chance to appeal against verdicts.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court finally sentenced war criminal
Molla to death on Sep 17, 2013. He was executed on Dec 12 the same year.
Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced to death in the 3rd
verdict, delivered on Feb 28, 2013.
His supporters in Jamaat strongholds went berserk after the judgement.
According to the government, over 70 people, including police personnel, were
killed in violence during the protest against the verdict.
Hearing Sayedee's appeal, the apex court lessened his punishment to
imprisonment until death on Sep 17 last year.
The tribunal sentenced to death another assistant secretary general of Jamaat,
Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, on May 9, 2013.
The Appellate Division upheld the verdict on Nov 3.
Ghulam Azam, who headed Jamaat during the war against Pakistani oppressors, was
sentenced to 90 years in prison on Jun 15, 2013 for plotting, planning and
instigating crimes against humanity. It was the 5th verdict.
The former Jamaat leader died at the age of 92 in a hospital on Oct 23, when
his appeal was being heard.
Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed was handed down capital
punishment on Jul 17, 2013.
In the 7th verdict, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury
was sentenced to be hanged by his neck until death.
Both Mujaheed and Chowdhury have appealed to the Supreme Court.
On Oct 9, 2013, former BNP minister Abdul Alim was sentenced to prison until
death.
The 83-year-old war criminal died on Aug 30 last year. He had served 11 months
in a prison cell of a hospital.
Al Badr commanders Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin were given the
capital punishment on Nov 3, 2013 for killing intellectuals during the war.
Both are on the run.
The 10th verdict was delivered on Oct 29, last year.
This time, Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, who was the chief of the Al Badr
vigilante during the war, was sentenced to death.
The verdict observed that he used Islam willfully and consciously to uproot the
Bangali nation.
He, too, has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.
As Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) closest ally, Nizami served as a
minister during the 2001-6 tenure of Khaleda Zia.
Chittagong Al Badr commander Mir Quasem Ali was sentenced to walk to the
gallows. The Shura member of the party is said to be its main financier.
On Nov 13 last year, Faridpur Razakar commander Zahid Hossain Khokon was
sentenced to death.
Brahmanbarhia Razakar commander Mobarak Hossain, expelled by local Awami
League, got the death sentence on Nov 24 last year.
Former Muslim League leader from Habiganj, Syed Mohammad Kaiser, who became a
state minister during military dictator Hussein Muhammad Ershad's regime, was
also sentenced to death for war crimes on Dec 23.
The last verdict was delivered on Dec 30, sentencing Jamaat Assistant Secretary
General ATM Azharul Islam to death.
(source: bdnews24.com)
SUDAN:
Sudan prosecutor seeks 6 charges against opposition detainees
Sudan's prosecutor on Tuesday called for 2 political detainees to face a raft
of charges, some of which could incur the death penalty, their defence told
AFP.
Farouk Abu Issa and Amin Makki Madani were arrested in Khartoum on December 6
after returning from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where they signed an
agreement aimed at uniting opposition groups.
The prosecutor submitted its case recommending 6 charges against the 2 to a
judge in Khartoum, said Moaz Hadra, spokesman for the detainees' defence.
The judge will also hear the prosecution case in a court on Monday February 23,
before deciding whether to press the charges against the opposition figures.
The charges were founding and running a "terrorist organisation," as well as
"undermining the constitutional order, inciting war, inciting hatred against
the state and publishing false reports," Hadra said.
All except publishing false reports carry the death sentence as the maximum
penalty.
Abu Issa and Madani were arrested after returning from Ethiopia where they had
signed the agreement uniting political parties, rebels and civil society groups
opposed to the government.
Abu Issa signed for a grouping of opposition parties he leads and Madani signed
for civil society groups.
The opposition accord came amid preparations in Sudan for April elections that
are widely expected to extend President Omar al-Bashir's 25 years in power.
He seized power in a 1989 coup, but won a 2010 election that was criticised by
observers for failing to meet international standards and was marred by
opposition boycotts.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
NIGERIA:
Lagos re-okays death penalty to prevent murder, armed robbery
Contrary to several campaigns to have death penalty removed from the Lagos
justice system, the state government Wednesday re-endorsed capital punishment,
to serve as a deterrence against violent crimes, such as murder and armed
robbery.
The endorsement was informed by an expert survey on the issue, where majority
of the public felt that the death penalty is effective for deterrence and
retribution for heinous crimes.
State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye said it was in
the light of the results of the perceptions and expert survey that the Lagos
State Executive Council adopted the position that the death penalty should be
retained in the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
Ipaye said following several abolition campaigns and international advocacy
which were addressed to the Lagos State Government, in particular as the pace
setter in justice sector reforms, the State Executive Council considered the
proposition to abolish or retain the death penalty in the Lagos State Common
Law.
In taking its decision, the State commissioned an empirical research that
surveyed the perception of Lagos residents and elicited their opinion on the
abolition debate, including the question whether they believe the death penalty
currently deters violent crime.
The objective and outcome of the survey is to inform the development of a state
policy on capital punishment that relies on empirical evidence and is based on
consultation with citizens and justice sector stakeholders.
Ipaye noted that the survey was undertaken in 2 categories: public survey
(random selection of 2,000 members of the public) and the experts' survey
(selected 100 persons who have close contact with the criminal justice process
and systems).
Over 1/2 of the respondents (51.1 %) advised Lagos State Government to execute
convicts on the death row while only 38. 5 % maintained otherwise. 9.7 % were
undecided while 0.8 % did not proffer any opinion.
"Whilst 61.9 % of the respondents believed that the death penalty is a
necessary retributive tool, as much as 59 % opined that the death penalty does
not bring a sense of happiness to the family of the victim(s). A majority of
the respondents (67.2 %) however recommended that Lagos State should retain the
death penalty," he said.
The study also found that gender, age and religion play important roles in
understanding the orientation of Lagos residents on the issue of capital
punishment.
"Hence while majority of the people support death penalty across the
socio-demographics, more males, older people and less religious people support
the death penalty.
"Majority of the respondents surveyed supported the use of the death penalty in
Lagos State. The survey also revealed that over 54 % of the respondents advised
the Lagos State Government to execute convicts on death row. A large number of
respondents also believed that the death penalty is a necessary retributive
tool and a majority of the respondents recommended that the State should retain
death penalty because it serves positive retributive and deterrence purposes,"
Ipaye said.
(source: Nigeria Guardian News)
IRAN:
30 prisoners hanged in 4 days
In the latest wave of executions and repression in Iran, at least 30 prisoners
have been hanged in prisons across country since Saturday. The victims included
a 60-year-old man that had already spent 20 years in prison.
The executions were carried out in prisons in several cities across Iran. Some
executions were carried out in groups.
On Tuesday, a group of 6 were hanged in Karaj's Gohardasht prison. They
included 3 men identified as Vahid Lalabadi, Ayob Farhadi, 33 and Amir Davoodi,
39, who had been transferred to isolation the day before. Another prisoner was
hanged in Shiraz on the same day.
On Monday, at least 14 prisoners were hanged in the cities of Bam, Uromiyeh and
Bandar Abbas. A group of 6 prisoners were sent to gallows in the city of Bam in
southern Iran. A group of 5 prisoners were executed in Darya Prison in the city
of Uromiyeh which included 3 residents of Kurdistan province and 2 residents of
Azerbaijan province. One of the victims was identified as Rahim Soleimani, 60,
who had already spent 20 years in prison.
On Monday, 2 other prisoners were hanged in Mashhad and 1 more prisoner was
hanged in Bandar Abbas.
On Sunday, 4 prisoners were hanged in Shiraz's Adel Abbad Prison and Kerman's
Shahab Prison.
On Saturday, 2 Baloch prisoners were hanged in Chahbahar Prison and another was
sent to gallows in the northern city of Rasht.
Meanwhile, simultaneously with the new wave of executions aimed at rising fear
in society, on Tuesday, a group of 3 men were paraded and humiliated in public
in the city of Mashhad without being charged or sentenced.
(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)
***************************
Saman Naseem transferred to solitary confinement for possible execution
A group of 6 Iranian political prisoners including Saman Naseem being held in
the central prison in the northwestern city of Uromiyeh were transferred to
solitary cells on Wednesday for possible execution.
The other 5 political prisoners are: Yones Aghat, Habiballah Afshari, Ali
Afshari, Sirvan Nezhavi, and Ibrahim Shapoori.
There is a growing concern that the political prisoners are transferred to
isolation to await their execution.
International Human rights organizations have issued statement calling for
immediate halt to planned execution of Mr. Saman Naseem who had been arrested
at the age of 17.
According to the Amnesty International Naseem is due to be executed on February
19 after being arrested on July 17, 2011.
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle
East and North Africa, said in a press release on February 13: "That the
Iranian authorities are preparing to put to death a young man who???s been
tortured for 97 days to 'confess' when he was 17 years old beggars belief."
In a letter seen by Amnesty International, Saman Naseem, now 22 years old,
described how he was kept in a 2 x 0.5 meter cell and constantly tortured
before being forced while blindfolded to put his fingerprints on 'confession'
papers. He was forced to admit to acts that lead to his conviction for
membership of an armed opposition group and taking up arms against the state.
He was 17 years old at the time.
"This is the reality of the criminal justice system in Iran, which makes a
mockery of its own statements that it does not execute children and upholds its
obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child," Hassiba Hadj
Sahraoui said.
According to an Urgent Action issued on Monday by Amnesty International, Naseem
was beaten on Sunday to force him to make TV 'confessions.'
"Saman Naseem was allowed no access to his lawyer during early investigations
and he said he was tortured, which included the removal of his finger and toe
nails and being hung upside down for several hours," Amnesty statement said.
"Saman Naseem called his family on 15 February and told them that earlier that
day men in plain clothes had taken him to the security department of the
Oroumieh Prison. He said the men, who he believed belonged to the Ministry of
Intelligence and were carrying cameras and recording equipment, beat him for
several hours to force him into making video-taped 'confessions', but he
refused to do so," AI statement added.
(source: NCR - Iran)
*********************
UN experts urge 'immediate halt' over scheduled execution of juvenile
The Government of Iran must comply with its international human rights
obligations and immediately halt its planned execution of a juvenile offender,
2 United Nations human rights experts urged today.
"Regardless of the circumstances and nature of the crime, the execution of
juvenile offenders is clearly prohibited by international human rights law,"
Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and
Christof Heyns, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, declared
in a press release issued earlier today.
"The imposition of the death penalty in Iran contrasts the current
international trend of abolishing the death penalty in law and in practice,"
they added.
Saman Naseem, who was 17 at the time of his arrest in 2011, was allegedly
subjected to torture and made to confess to the crimes of "Moharebeh," or
"enmity against God," and "Ifsad fil Arz," or "corruption on Earth," for his
suspected involvement in armed activities with the Party of Free Life of
Kurdistan. He was sentenced to death in April 2013.
According to a UN human rights report released last year, the new Islamic Penal
Code that entered into force in 2013 now omits references to apostasy,
witchcraft and heresy, but continues to allow for juvenile executions and
retains the death penalty for activities that do not constitute most serious
crimes in line with the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of
those facing the death penalty such as adultery, repeated alcohol use, and drug
possession and trafficking.
Nonetheless, the independent experts recalled the "repeated assertions" by
Iranian authorities that confessions obtained under torture were inadmissible
under Iranian law while noting that the country was also party to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child.
Iran has witnessed a surge in executions over the past 2 years.
At least 852 individuals were reportedly executed between July 2013 and June
2014, representing an "alarming" increase in the number of executions in
relation to the already-high rates of previous years, according to UN
estimates. In addition, at least 60 persons, including 4 women, have reportedly
been executed in January 2015 alone.
(source: UN News Centre)
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