The Jamaat-e-Islami will hold countrywide demonstrations on Wednesday to protest a Cabinet decision to drop the names of convicted war criminals from the country’s voter roll.
The party announced its plan in a statement on Tuesday.
The Jamaat said the government decision was intended to keep it out of the next election.
The Cabinet on Monday gave final approval to the ‘Voter List (Second Amendment) Act, 2013’ to permanently remove the names of those convicted under the Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunals) Order 1972 and the International Crimes Act from the country’s electoral roll.
Protesting the decision, the Jamaat said the government used the International Crimes Tribunal verdicts as an excuse to prevent the it from joining the election.
Five of the six war criminals convicted by the ICT are Jamaat leaders. The party is a member of the 18-Party Alliance, led by the BNP.The statement, signed by Jamaat acting Secretary General Rafiqul Islam Khan, said the government decision had curbed the fundamental rights of individuals, on the one hand, and trampled on human rights and the Constitution, on the other.”
“Appeals have been filed with the Supreme Court against the ICT verdicts. So, the tribunal judgments are not final. There is no scope to consider someone (convicted by the ICT) as guilty while the trial process was still on,” the statement argued.
Apart from several Jamaat stalwarts, two BNP leaders, too, are facing war crimes charges at the tribunal.
In another statement, Jamaat acting chief Makbul Ahmed condemned and protested the ‘illegal’ arrest of Hifazat-e Islam leader Mufti Muhammad Wakkas.
Police on Monday arrested Wakkas, also the Secretary General of the Jamiat-e Ulama Islam, a partner of the 18-Party Alliance, over the mayhem during Hifazat’s May 5 gathering in Dhaka.
Source: Bd news24