HRW wants Bangladesh to halt execution of war crimes accused

The death sentence against Muhammed Kamaruzzman, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party convicted of war crimes during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence, should immediately be stayed, Human Rights Watch said today.

Kamaruzzman should be granted a right to appeal against the death sentence.

Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned at news that the government has ordered the authorities at Dhaka Central jail to make preparations for the execution of Kamaruzzamn.

Kamaruzzaman was transferred to Dhaka Central Jail following the appeals verdict, a signal that his execution is imminent.

Kamaruzzaman and his counsel have yet to receive the full text of the final verdict, which is necessary for him to be able to lodge a petition for review of the decision within thirty days, a standard procedure in all death penalty cases. The government officials have indicated that the execution is possible before the full verdict is issued which goes against standard policy in death penalty cases.

"Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an irreversible, degrading, and cruel punishment," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "It is particularly problematic when proceedings do not meet fair trial standards and where the right to appeal against a death sentence by an independent court is not allowed."

Kamaruzzaman was arrested in July 2010 on the orders of the International Crimes Court (ICT), a specially constituted court set up to prosecute war crimes committed during the 1971 war.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has said that "in cases of trials leading to the imposition of the death penalty, scrupulous respect of the guarantees of fair trial is particularly important" and that any death penalty imposed after an unfair trial would be a violation of the right to a fair trial.