War crimes death sentence for former Bangladeshi minister
December 23, 2014
Syed Mohammad Qaisar, a former junior minister under the military dictator H.M. Ershad, was sentenced to death on Tuesday for war crimes. Qaisar has been convicted of committing genocide, rape, extortion, arson, and torture during the country's war of independence with Pakistan in 1971.
Qaisar, who is now 73 years old, was a leader of the Muslim League, a group which opposed the creation of Bangladesh. According to prosecutor Rana Dasgupta, he formed a vigilante group called the Qaisar Bahini (Qaisar Force) and carried out atrocities on civilians in aid of the Pakistani army.
"Wounds of rape are great than wounds of bullets," said another prosecutor in response to one of the charges. It is estimated that around 200,000 women were abused by the Pakistani military during the nine month conflict.
One of the major allegations related to an act of genocide in the eastern Brahmanbaria district, were 108 people of the minority Hindu community were killed as part of a spate of attacks covering 22 villages in one day.
No defense witnesses
He was found guilty on 14 of 16 charges, and while 32 witnesses gave testimony for the prosecution, not one came forward on the defendant's behalf.
After Bangladesh's independence, Qaisar went into hiding in Pakistan, before reemerging in politics under the administration of H.M. Ershad, who came to power in a bloodless coup in 1982.
Defense attorney Syed Mohammad Shahjahan told the press that his client would appeal, saying "we didn't get a proper judgment."
Controversial tribunal
The tribunal set up to hear related cases was established in 2010 with the support of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
She has been accused of using the tribunal against her two biggest rivals, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, of which Qaisar was once a member, and its Islamist ally Jamaat-e-Islami.
International human rights groups claim that the tribunal does not adhere to international standards. Of the 15 people convicted by the court, 13 have been given the death penalty.
es/tj (dpa, Reuters)