Pertubuhan IKRAM Malaysia (IKRAM) is utterly appalled at the execution of Muhammad Kamaruzzaman by the Bangladesh government on Saturday 11th April 2015. We totally deplore this inhumane and despicable act.
Bangladesh went ahead with the latest hanging despite last-minute pleas from the United Nations, the European Union and human rights organisations to halt the execution. The UN said the trial did not meet “fair international” standards.
Kamaruzzaman, 63, of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was hanged at Dhaka Central Jail after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal against a death sentence imposed by a special tribunal for genocide and torture of civilians during the 1971 war to break away from Pakistan.
Kamaruzzaman was the assistant secretary-general of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, renowned journalist, intellectual, columnist, Islamic thinker and popular leader. He was found guilty in May 2013 of masterminding what the prosecution described as one of the bloodiest single episodes in the independence war.
Earlier, the government had filed some baseless, fictitious and concocted charges against this leader just to attain their ill political interest. To prove the false case, ruling party men were produced as the prosecution witness. The contradictory and conflicting statements of the witnesses revealed the government’s malign conspiracy.
Muhammad Kamaruzzaman was executed in connection with the Shohagpur mass killing. But the fact is, he was no way involved with the incident. Martyr Kamaruzzaman repeatedly said that he had never gone to Shohagpur ever in his lifetime. Even the general residents of Shohagpur cannot confirm that he had ever been to that place. The government had lodged false case against him and arranged a farcical trial.
Hence, we call upon the Malaysian government to condemn this atrocious act of injustice and call for an immediate suspension of all death penalties meted out during the outrageous court proceedings which made a mockery of justice.
Dr Mohd Parid Sheikh Ahmad
President
Pertubuhan IKRAM Malaysia