MERCY ISSUE Kamaruzzaman entitled to get ‘reasonable time’: law minister

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War crimes death row inmate Muhammad Kamaruzzaman is entitled to get ‘reasonable time’ to decide whether or not he would seek mercy from the President, law minister Anisul Huq said Thursday night.
He told New Age that in this regard the   Appellate Division’s verdict on the review petition of Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah should be followed.
But on Thursday afternoon, state minister for home Asaduzzaman Khan said at a news  briefing at his office that a magistrate would visit Kamaruzzman at the condemn cell later in the day to ascertain whether or not he would avail the opportunity to seek  clemency from the President.
The state minister also said that the death row inmate had to give a decision within the  day.
Replying to a question, he said the government would follow the jail code and the court’s directive in executing Kamaruzzaman.
But, Dhaka deputy commissioner Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah said that no magistrate had been assigned to visit Dhaka Central Jail on Thursday.
He also said he came to know about the minister’s statement from the media.
‘No magistrate would visit Kamaruzzaman today,’ he said.
‘It would not be correct to say that a magistrate is going to Dhaka Central jail today,’ Tofazzel told New Age at 5.15 PM
At 11  AM on Thursday five defence lawyers met Kamaruzzaman at the jail gate and later they told waiting reporters that their client would inform the jail authorities about his decision on the issue of mercy petition.
The jail authorities had brought Kamaruzzaman out of the condemn cell to facilitate his meeting with the lawyers at the jail gate.
According to lawyers Kamarazzman was in jovial mood and shook hands with them.
The lawyers said that he also enquired them about their well-being.
Supreme Court lawyer Shishir Manir who led the five-member defence team told reporters that the jail authorities should provide time to think to Kamaruzzman so that he could take a decision on the mercy issue.
Shishir also said that nowhere in its verdict on Quader Mollah’s review petition the Appellate Division said that the jail code would not be applicable in executing war crimes convicts.
The apex court while dismissing Quader Molllah’s review petition   said in the verdict that there was no prescribed rule or law to fix a date for the execution of death  sentence  after informing the convict that his sentence had been confirmed  by  it.
The  apex court said that the jail  authorities shall  fix  the  date  in accordance  with   orders  from  the  Government  as  the  Subsection  (3)  of  Section  20  of the International Crimes Tribunal Act 1973 providing reasonable  time for the disposal of review  petition.
The  jail authorities  should  also  provide  the  prisoner  an  opportunity  to  file  a  mercy  petition  and  to  inform  him  about  the opportunity he would get to file the mercy petition.

Source: New Age