MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) — Amnesty International has urged Bangladesh to reverse the death sentence of a former opposition figure as such punishment is not a way to bring justice, a statement published on the organization's website Wednesday 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," Amnesty International's Bangladesh Researcher Abbas Faiz said in the statement.
On Wednesday, Motiur Rahman Nizami, leader of the third largest political party of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, was handed down a death penalty by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for war crimes. The court was set up to investigate crimes committed during the 1971 independence war in Bangladesh.
"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," the statement said.
According to the statement, the verdicts, delivered by the ICT, targeted mainly those, linked with the Jamaat-e-Islami Party, 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.
Through the statement, the organization called on the authorities in Bangladesh for a moratorium on death sentences, thus making the first step in abolishing the death penalty.
