Dec. 13
PAKISTAN:
Govt files plea for Musharraf treason trial
The federal government Thursday requested a special court to initiate high
treason proceedings against former General-President Pervez Musharraf. He is
the country's 1st military dictator to be charged for treason and a conviction
can lead to life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
The Special Court headed by Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court and
including Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali Khan of the Lahore High Court and Justice
Tahira Safdar of the Balochistan High Court would hold the trial.
Interior Secretary Shahid Ullah Khan filed the complaint, seeking conviction of
Musharraf and punishment to him for subverting, abrogating and suspending the
constitution of the country, under Article 6 of the constitution read with
Section 5 of Criminal Law Amendment (Special Court) Act 1976 and section 3 of
High Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973.
The federation prayed if the former dictator is found guilty of charges
mentioned in the complaint then he be awarded punishment under Section 2(2) of
High Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973, which says; "A person who is found guilty
of high treason, as defined in Article 6 of Constitution, shall be punished
with death or imprisonment for life."
"Today we have received the complaint and now it would be sent to the judges
for their perusal," Special Court Registrar Abdul Ghani Soomro told The Nation.
Soomro said it has not been decided if the proceedings against Musharraf would
be held in the Federal Shariat Court building or in the National Library. He
said there was an issue of space at FSC building, but added that the federal
government has to make the arrangements in this regard.
5 acts of the high treason against Pervez Musharraf have been mentioned in the
complaint. First, on November 3, 2007, in his capacity as Chief of Army Staff
(COAS), he issued a proclamation in his own name to hold the constitution in
abeyance. 2nd, Musharraf in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army
by adopting unconstitutional means abrogated, subverted/suspended/held in
abeyance the constitution by issuing the Proclamation, hence committing the
offence of high treason as defined in Article 6 of the constitution.
3rd, Musharraf as self-appointed COAS vide notification Sept 2, 2007-Min-I on
Nov 3, 2007 also issued Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) No.1 of 2007. By
issuing PCO No.1 of 2007, express letter and spirit of the Part II, Part III,
Part IV, Part VII, Part XI and Part XII of the constitution was abrogated,
subverted and suspended. Musharraf by issuing Oath of Office (Judges) Order
2007 grossly abrogated and subverted the letter and spirit of Part I, Part II
and Part VII of constitution. Through issuing Oath of Office of (Judges)
Musharraf also committed third act of high treason.
4th, Provisional Constitution (Amendment) Order 2007, issued by the former
military dictator also abrogated, subverted and suspended the letter and spirit
of various provisions of the constitution including it Part I and Part XI.
5th, Musharraf, who had occupied the office of president since June 2001 by
issuing Constitution (Second Amendment) Order, 2007 further amended Article 41,
44, 193, 194, 208 and 270C of the constitution, which removed the
constitutional bars in Article 44 and 63 to his 3rd term election in uniform
during the pendency of his case in the Supreme Court. He committed this 5th act
of high treason in furtherance of his self-serving objectives.
"The retired general intentionally committed the (above said) offences to
perpetuate his illegal occupation of highest state office, used for
unconstitutional rule and to ward off any possible adverse verdict that could
disrupt his continuous usurpation of power and to thwart the sub judice case."
The complaint maintains this aspect has been so conclusively determined and
held by the apex court in PLD 2009 SC 879.
(source: The Nation)
BANGLADESH:
Amnesty calls execution of Bangladeshi Islamist leader 'disgrace' ---- Amnesty
has warned that the execution "could trigger more violence" in Bangladesh.
Amnesty International has warned that the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah, the
assistant secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami party "could trigger more violence" in
Bangladesh.
Amnesty International called Thursday's hanging of Mollah, a "disgrace" and
said that "Bangladeshi authorities must now ensure that people are protected
against reprisal attacks."
Following the execution, Amnesty International's Bangladesh Researcher Abbas
Faiz expressed in a statement that Mollah's execution should never have
happened and that the "death penalty is a human rights violation".
Touching onto the ongoing tensions in the country, Faiz stressed that "The
country is on a razor's edge at the moment with pre-election tensions running
high and almost non-stop street protests. Mollah's execution could trigger more
violence, with the Hindu community bearing the brunt."
A key figure in the Islamist opposition party Jamaat-e-Islami, Mollah was
executed at the at Dhaka Central Jail on Thursday evening.
Mollah was convicted by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) of
atrocities he allegedly committed during the 1971 independence war from
Pakistan.
(source: World Bulletin)
**************
Case completes all legal phases
With a Supreme Court bench hearing 2 review petitions, no legal phase has been
left unexplored in the war crimes trial of Quader Mollah.
The defence filed 1 of the petitions with the chamber judge of the apex court
on Tuesday night, seeking a review of the death penalty. The other 1 was filed
yesterday morning against his life imprisonment.
The bench headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain rejected both the
petitions yesterday, clearing the legal bar to Mollah's execution.
Earlier on September 17, this bench sentenced Mollah to death, overruling the
life term handed down by International Crimes Tribunal-2.
After being sentenced to life on February 5, the Jamaat leader walked out of
court, flashing a V-sign. It triggered widespread outrage, drawing thousands of
youths to the capital's Shahbagh intersection to protest what they deemed a
sentence too lenient for a man nicknamed the "Butcher of Mirpur" for his
brutalities in 1971.
The gathering of youths at Shahbagh soon turned into a never-seen-before mass
movement, which prompted the government to amend International Crimes
(Tribunals) Act, 1973 to give the state the right to appeal on behalf of the
war crimes victims. Before the amendment on February 17, the state could appeal
only against an acquittal.
The prosecution and the defence appealed in March.
After the apex court delivered its verdict, a legal debate ensued over the
acceptability of a review petition in this case.
International Crimes Tribunal-2 on December 8 issued the warrant of execution
against the convicted war criminal after the SC released the full text of its
verdict on December 5.
On Tuesday night, after the jail authorities had made all preparations to hang
Mollah, defence counsels went to Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, the chamber
judge, to seek a stay.
Justice Syed Mahmud stayed the execution process till 10:30am the next day. In
the last 2 days, the court heard the 2 sides.
Yesterday, the 5-member bench came up with its order around 12:10pm, saying,
"Both the petitions are dismissed."
5 other judges of bench are Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, Justice Wahhab Miah,
Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik.
In an immediate reaction to the verdict, Abdur Razzaq said the government would
have to execute the verdict "legally" only after the release of the full order
of the Appellate Division that dismissed the review petitions.
He added the jail authority was bound to follow the Jail Code.
During the hearing, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the provisions of the
Jail Code were not applicable to this case.
In the afternoon, as jail officials asked Mollah whether he would seek
presidential pardon, the death row inmate replied in the negative.
He was hanged by the neck at Dhaka Central Jail at 10:01.
Hailing the SC ruling, different student organisations brought out processions
in the capital while hundreds of people at Shahbagh were in a jubilant mood.
"It's another victory for the nation in this month of victory," said Imran H
Sarker, the convener of Gonojagoron Mancha, a platform that demands the highest
punishment for war criminals.
On August 2, 2010, Quader Mollah was shown arrested in the war crimes case and
on May 28, 2012, he was indicted on 6 charges.
He was given 15 years in jail by the tribunal and the apex court for three
other charges: killing of a journalist, a poet and her mother and 2 brothers
and a student.
For the Keraniganj mass killing on November 25, 1971, the tribunal ordered his
acquittal but the Supreme Court sentenced him to life.
Another charge was related to the killing of 344 people in Alubdi village in
Mirpur on April 24, 1971. Both the courts found him guilty and the apex court
upheld the tribunal's life imprisonment awarded to him.
The 6th and final charge was of killing Hazrat Ali Laskar, his wife, 3
daughters and his 2-year-old son on March 26, 1971. 1 of the 3 daughters was
raped.
Hazrat's eldest daughter was raped too but she survived and testified against
Mollah. The tribunal had found him guilty and sentenced him to life
imprisonment but the apex court changed the sentence to capital punishment.
Appeals in the war crimes cases against 6 others are now pending with the
Appellate Division.
They are former Jamaat ameer Ghulam Azam and leaders Ali Ahsan Mohammad
Mojaheed, Delawar Hossain Sayedee and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, BNP leader
Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and its former leader Abdul Alim.
The tribunals awarded capital punishment to Mojaheed, Sayedee, Kamaruzzaman and
Salauddin and sentenced Ghulam Azam to 90 years in jail and life imprisonment
to Alim for their wartime offences.
The SC is now holding hearings on the appeal in the case against Sayedee. The
court is yet to fix any date for hearing others.
(source: The Daily Star)
**********
Execution made Mollah an Islamist martyr
Abdul Quader Mollah has been executed for war crimes by a tribunal which has
been the subject of widespread criticism and has raised doubts about the rule
of law in Bangladesh, writes DW's Grahame Lucas.
The execution of Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of the Islamist Jammat-e-Islami
party in Bangladesh, will satisfy a great many people in the country who want
to see a bloody chapter in the country's history closed once and for all and
the perpetrators of the atrocities committed in the war of liberation of 1971
punished. In view of the millions who lost their lives and the estimated
200,000 women who were raped, that is in itself perfectly understandable.
(Grahame Lucas is head of DW's South East Asia Service / Asia Magazines)
However, there can be little doubt that the trial before the so-called
International War Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has been deeply flawed. The political
opposition suspected that it was designed from the outset to serve Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina's personal desire for revenge against the political
right and the Islamist movement in the country and to resolve a decades-long
conflict between the 2 major political camps, Awami League and Bangladesh
Nationalist Party. According to Hasina's opponents, Mollah and his
co-defendants were denied a fair chance of defending themselves in accordance
with international judicial standards. Both Human Rights Watch and the United
Nations share this view.
Justified doubts
The criticism focuses on several aspects of the trial. For instance, there were
from the outset justified doubts about the reliability of witness testimony
four decades after the event. But the main criticism focuses on the legal and
political processes involved. Mollah was originally found guilty on most counts
as charged and sentenced to a life term in prison. The case appeared closed.
The prosecution could not appeal against the life sentence because at that time
an appeal would only have been possible if Mollah had been acquitted of the
charges. What happened next showed that the authorities were willing to respond
to mass protests and do anything to get the death sentence - including
manipulating the law.
Initially, they amended the constitution to make retroactive legislation
permissible in the case of war crimes. They then amended ICT legislation
retroactively to make an appeal by the prosecution against the life sentence
possible. In the face of intense pressure from the government and the streets,
the Supreme Court granted the appeal by the prosecution and imposed the death
penalty on Mollah last September.
But Sheikh Hasina's efforts to fulfil her 2009 election pledge, to bring the
perpetrators of war crimes to justice, did not stop there. In the past,
Bangladeshi courts have always allowed the right to appeal in the cases in
which the death penalty has been imposed. This time, however, the attorney
general, a close political ally of the prime minister, argued that that all
legal avenues open to defense counsel had been exhausted. Mollah was denied the
right to appeal, a right which is enshrined in the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In the end the court was only willing to
hear a last minute stay of execution case filed by the defense. It was rejected
on the last day of legal hearings before the elections - scheduled for January
5, 2014 - and Mollah was led to the gallows.
Cruel and inhumane vs. double standards
The court's deliberations and the government's conduct have not only been
criticized by the conservative opposition and their allies, the religious right
at home. They have also caused alarm internationally also in Germany and other
European countries, where the death penalty is regarded as a cruel and inhumane
punishment. Government supporters in Bangladesh have responded by accusing the
West of being influenced by the Bangladeshi opposition and of applying double
standards. The message is clear: The West should stay out of Bangladesh's
internal affairs not least because it failed to condemn the atrocities
committed back in 1971.
What does this tells us about the present state of Bangladesh? Without doubt
the trial and the execution of Mollah have cast a long dark shadow over the
country's liberal tradition. The motives for setting up the so-called War
Crimes Tribunal originally appeared to be honorable. It was argued that it was
time to close a chapter in the country's past, to heal old wounds and to mete
out justice long overdue. But a trial under these circumstances, the imposition
of the death penalty on a key defendant and its speedy implementation without
respect for his rights will do nothing to close this chapter in Bangladesh's
past. Rather, it shows that the country's understanding of democracy and the
rule of law is badly flawed. Moreover, both sides will continue to manipulate
the judicial system to their advantage depending on who is in power. If the
ends justify the means as in this case, this trial will not close a chapter in
the country's history. It has made Mollah a martyr to the Islamists and opened
a new ugly chapter in the country's history.
(source: Opinion, Deutsche Welle)
INDONESIA:
5 Malaysians caught with 3.9kg of Syabu
5 Malaysian nationals could potentially face the death penalty as they were
arrested by Brunei's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for their involvement in
alleged drug distribution, Borneo Bulletin reported.
In a press release issued 1-47 the NCB yesterday, it was stated the 4 men and 1
woman are currently in custody for further investigations following their
arrest after prolonged surveillance conducted by enforcement officers.
The officers seized a package (photo left) reportedly containing 3.9kg of
methamphetamine, or syabu, along with RM7,000 in cash.
Investigated under Section 3(a) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Paragraph 27, those
found guilty of distributing over 50 grammes of controlled drug will face the
mandatory death penalty. The group, meanwhile, has also been charged under
Section 6(b) for the consumption of a controlled drug.
The NCB has extended its appreciation to members of the public for providing
information and encouraged further cooperation related to drug abuse. Those who
wish to reach out to the NCB can contact 2448877 during office hours or through
their hotline after office hours at 8777444.
(source: The Borneo Post)
NORTH KOREA:
Uncle of North Korean leader executed as 'traitor'
The powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been executed as a
"traitor for all ages," the official news agency reported.
Jang Song Thaek faced a special military tribunal Thursday and was convicted of
"anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts" in a bid to overthrow the
the communist country's leadership, KCNA reported Friday in Pyongyang. The
state news agency did not say when or how Jang was killed.
North Korean media reported Monday that Jang had been purged for crimes that
included faction-building, corruption, drug use and womanizing. He was
considered the country's most powerful figure after his nephew, Kim Jong Un.
The move appears to be a sign of insecurity at the very top of the North Korean
regime, says Victor Cha, a White House advisor on North Korea to
former-president George W. Bush.
"To me it means he doesn't trust anyone in his system, which is not a good
sign," Cha said.
With Jang's execution and purge of a prominent general last year, Kim, 30, has
now purged 2 of the most influential people in his father's regime, at the top
of the party and the military, Cha said.
Gen. Ri Young Ho, a military leader who appeared in most of the last public
photos of Kim's father before he died, disappeared from the scene in July,
2012. In the past, North Korean leaders have tackled enemies in either the
party or the military, but never both, Cha said.
"When you do that it means you have no friends left," he said. Maybe it's his
youthfulness that he's brash, but it's very risky."
State TV aired humiliating photographs Monday that showed Jang considered the
country's second most powerful figure after Kim, being hauled away from a
meeting by two uniformed guards
"All the crimes committed by the accused were proved in the course of hearing
and were admitted by him," KCNA said.
Calling Jang "a traitor to the nation for all ages," the report said he "did
serious harm to the youth movement in our country, being part of the group of
renegades and traitors in the field of youth work bribed by enemies."
"The accused Jang brought together undesirable forces and formed a faction as
the boss of a modern day factional group for a long time and thus committed
such hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state by all sorts of
intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power
of our party and state," the KCNA report continued, in typically bombastic
fashion.
"It is an elementary obligation of a human being to repay trust with sense of
obligation and benevolence with loyalty. However, despicable human scum Jang,
who was worse than a dog, perpetrated thrice-cursed acts of treachery in
betrayal of such profound trust and warmest paternal love shown by the party
and the leader for him."
(source: USA Today)
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