A top leader of fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party in Bangladesh on Monday lost his final bid to overturn his death sentence for war crimes and mass killing committed during the 1971 independence war against Pakistan, triggering violence in which a protester was killed.
The Supreme Court upheld its previous verdict on Muhammad Quamaruzzaman, rejecting his plea for reviewing his death sentence. “Rejected”, pronounced Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, a day after the four-member apex court heard the review petition of Jamaat’s 63-year-old assistant secretary general. After the verdict, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said that there is no legal bar for the government to execute Quamaruzzaman for his crimes against humanity following the judgement.
He said Quamaruzzaman now could seek presidential clemency within a “logical timeframe”. However, jail officials said they were prepared to execute him anytime from now. “The government will now fix the time to execute the death penalty after he will meet family members...But he has a choice to seek the presidential clemency,” Alam said.
Authorities called out paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to enforce a nationwide security vigil to prevent possible violent protests by Jamaat activists. However, soon after the verdict, Jamaat-e-Islami supporters in Noakhali clashed with police.
An unidentified youth was killed in the clash while another received gunshot injuries during the clash, police said. One person has been detained. “All of them were in the procession taken out by the local Jamaat-e Islami,” a police official said.
Jamaat, a key ally of Khaleda Zia-lead main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) issued a statement, later also called for a 48-hour nationwide shutdown from tomorrow. “The government filed the case against Quamaruzzaman based on false, fabricated and airy allegations,” the statement said.
Bangladesh in 2013 had witnessed violent protests and counter protests when the tribunal pronounced its initial verdict on Quamaruzzaman.