By India Tomorrow News,
New Delhi 13 Dec 2013: The execution of a top leader of Bangladesh Jamaat Islami has been condemned by India’s leading Muslim organizations. Abdul Qadir Molla, Assistant Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat Islami was hanged to death Thursday night following the apex court of the country refused his petition to review his death sentence awarded by a controversial war tribunal.
Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, Ameer (National President) of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), has strongly condemned the hanging describing it as a brazen act of barbarism by the Bangladesh government.
Molla was tried for his alleged involvement in brutalities unleashed on people in Bangladesh, the then east Pakistan, when it was separated from Pakistan. Molla had opposed separation from Pakistan and formation of Bangladesh.
JIH chief Maulana Umari said that opposing any effort or tendency of secession and making effort for maintaining integrity of a country cannot be described as treason. “Criminalization of the efforts of Maulana Abdul Qadir Molla and Jamaat Islami Bangladesh and leaders of other parties and convicting them for death or life imprisonment is a brazen act of barbarism, which cannot be justified,” said Maulana Umari.
He termed the war tribunal and prosecution of these leaders by the present Sheikh Hasina government of Bangladesh as a political vendetta.
“None of these leaders were prosecuted and charge sheeted during the regime of Shiekh Mujib and even after the independence of Bangladesh, Jamaat Islami Bangladesh has been a renowned political party of the country and played constructive role both as a ruling and opposition party. In the age of democracy it is unthinkable that a ruling party, just as vendetta, would level wrong heinous charges against political opponents ignoring all the requirements of justice,” said Maulana Umari.
The All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM), the umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations, also severely condemned the ‘hasty execution of a controversial verdict issued by a discredited and politicised tribunal.’
President of AIMMM, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan said: “The hasty execution of Maulana Abdul Qadir Molla, a prominent leader of Jamaat Islami Bangladesh, is a scandal and crime committed by an unpopular government which is about to be overthrown by the people of Bangladesh in the forthcoming general elections. The present government by its hurried execution of a controversial order by a discredited and politicised tribunal is only seeking to weaken opposition forces.”
Dr Khan further said: “It was totally unfair to revive closed cases after four decades defying the decision of the first President of Bangladesh.”
He termed the hanging as ‘judicial murder’ which ‘will go into history as one of the sins and misdeeds of the present Bangladeshi ruler.’
Dr Khan asked international human rights organisations to take the Bangladesh government and its discredited tribunal to the International Court of Justice as sanity and good counsel have failed to bring the present rulers of Bangladesh to their senses.
