The UK-based rights group’s Bangladesh Researcher Abbas Faiz has made the call in a statement
Amnesty International has urged Bangladesh to overturn the death sentence against Jamaat Chief Motiur Rahman Nizami.
TheUK-based rights group’s Bangladesh Researcher Abbas Faiz made the call in a statement published on the organisation’s website on Wednesday.
Abbas Faiz said: “Bangladesh must overturn the death sentence against Motiur Rahman Nizami and all others.”
“The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can never be a way to deliver justice.”
On Wednesday, the International Crimes Tribunal awarded the death sentence to Jamaat Chief Matiur Rahman Nizami for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
The statement said: “The crimes committed during the independence war were horrific, and there is no question that victims deserve justice. But the death penalty only perpetuates the cycle of violence.”
“The death penalty is not only a violation of the right to life, but it is an irreversible punishment, if it leads to execution, and leaves no room to correct any possible judgment errors or fair trial violations from the proceedings.”
According to the statement, the verdicts, delivered by the ICT, targeted mainly those linked with the Jamaat-e-Islami, while the trials themselves were observed to be unfair.
“The ICT is a unique opportunity for justice and reconciliation in Bangladesh. But in the face of consistent concerns raised by the defense team about the trials not being fair it will only have the opposite effect and create more resentment,” the statement added.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
