BANGLADESH:
PRESIDENT MUST STOP IMMINENT EXECUTION
Muhammed Kamaruzzaman, a prominent leader of the opposition party
Jamaat-e-Islami, is facing
imminent execution after the Supreme Court rejected his review petition on 6
April. Authorities at
the Dhaka Central Jail have summoned his family to visit him immediately,
indicating that
preparations to execute him may be underway.
View the full Urgent Action, including case information, addresses and sample
messages, here.
On 9 May 2013, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) found Muhammed
Kamaruzzaman guilty
of five of the seven charges against him. The ICT is a Bangladeshi court trying
people accused of
crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence. The ICT
sentenced Muhammed
Kamaruzzaman to death on two of the charges, (one for murder, another for mass
killing) and to
periods of imprisonment on the other charges.
Following his appeal, the Supreme Court changed one death sentence to life
imprisonment in November
2014 as it did not find the punishment proportionate to the crime and upheld
the other death
sentence, which relates to a mass killing. Muhammed Kamaruzzaman filed a review
petition before the
Supreme Court on 5 March 2015 when this petition became available to him. This
review petition,
which would have allowed him an additional scrutiny of his death sentence by
the same bench of
judges, was rejected on 6 April. This ruling opened the door for his execution.
Bangladeshi civil society, Amnesty International and other international bodies
have welcomed the
government’s move to end the longstanding impunity in Bangladesh for serious
human rights violations
in 1971. However, most observers including Amnesty International have expressed
concern over how the
proceedings before the ICT violated international fair trial standards. There
were also
irregularities in the proceedings, for instance, the court did not allow the
defense to challenge
the credibility of prosecution witnesses.
Muhammed Kamaruzzaman’s chance of avoiding execution now lies with the
President of Bangladesh who
can grant him clemency if Muhammed Kamaruzzaman requests it. However,
Bangladeshi newspapers say the
Dhaka Central Jail’s Superintendent has denied his lawyers the possibility to
meet him to discuss
his clemency options. They quote the Superintendent as justifying this action
by saying there is no
provision for this in the law. International law clearly states that anyone
sentenced to death has
the right to seek pardon or commutation of their death sentence, and that such
pardons or
commutations may be granted in all cases.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Amnesty International viewed the establishment of the ICT in Bangladesh as a
historic opportunity
with the potential to end more than 40 years of impunity for the mass-scale
crimes under
international law and other human rights.
View the full Urgent Action here.
Name: Muhammed Kamaruzzaman (m)
Issues: Death penalty, Imminent execution, Legal concern UA: 82/15
Issue Date: 8 April 2015
Country: Bangladesh
Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact!
EITHER send a short email to u...@aiusa.org with "UA 82/15" in the subject line,
and include in the
body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent.
OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action.
Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office
if sending appeals
after the below date. If you receive a response from a government official,
please forward it to us
at u...@aiusa.org or to the Urgent Action Office address below.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Please write immediately in Bangla, English or your own language:
* Calling on the Bangladeshi authorities not to execute Muhammed Kamaruzzaman
and halt plans to
carry out any other executions;
* Urging the President to commute Muhammed Kamaruzzaman’s death sentence and
of all other persons
under sentence of death, to terms of imprisonment;
* Calling on the Bangladeshi authorities to immediately establish an official
moratorium on
executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 20 MAY 2015 TO:
President Abdul Hamid President’s office, Bangabhaban
Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh Fax: 011 880 2 958 5502 Salutation: Dear President
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Old Sangsad Bhaban Tejgaon
Dhaka 1215, Bangladesh Fax: 011 880 2 811 3244
Email: i...@pmo.gov.bd
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister
And copies to:
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Segun Bagicha Dhaka, Bangladesh Fax: 011 880 2 956 2188
Also send copies to:
Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin, Embassy of Bangladesh
3510 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008
Fax: 202 244 2771 -OR- 202 244 7830 I Phone: 202 244 0183 I Email:
bdoot_pw...@yahoo.com
Please share widely with your networks: http://bit.ly/1E6uyW6
We encourage you to share Urgent Actions with your friends and colleagues! When
you share with your
networks, instead of forwarding the original email, please use the "Forward
this email to a friend"
link found at the very bottom of this email. Thank you for your activism!
UA Network Office AIUSA │600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003
T. 202.509.8193 │ F. 202.509.8193 │E. u...@aiusa.org │amnestyusa.org/urgent
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