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Bangladesh

The hanging of Mir Quasem Ali

2016-09-11

[DAWN] PAKISTAN’S Foreign Office says Pakistain is "deeply saddened" by the execution in Bangladesh last week of Mir Quasem Ali ...Jamaat-e-Islamic Central Committee member and Saudi money man in Bangla. Currently waiting to be hanged.... . Mir Quasem was found guilty in 2014 by a Bangladeshi court of torture, multiple murders and arson. He was sentenced to death after what Pakistain describes as "a flawed judicial process". But why is Pakistain so worried about the integrity of Bangladesh’s judicial process? And why does our government care so greatly about the death of another country’s citizen -- one accused of heinous crimes? The answer: when it comes to Bangladesh, Pakistain remains chained to its past.

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Bangladesh

Quasem was an executive council member of Jamaat

2016-09-05

[Dhaka Tribune] The war criminal Mir Quasem Ali was sentenced to death by the tribunal in 2014 and his sentence was upheld by the apex court in March this year after his counsel had failed to prove his alibi. Quasem’s final legal attempt to save his life was rejected on August 30. During the review petition hearing, his counsel urged the court to give him lenient punishment considering his status and economic contribution. But after the court dismissed his petition, Quasem was nervous about hearing about the judgement but surprisingly did not seek presidential mercy ‐ his last lifeline. First contract The government in 2013 announced that it had acquired the receipt of Quasem paying $25m to appoint a lobbyist firm ‐ Washington-based Cassidy & Associates ‐ to cast doubt and raise questions about the war crimes trials. Then law minister Shafique Ahmed disclosed the information in parliament in April, 2013, adding that documents related to the dealing were to reach their hands soon. The attorney general submitted to the Appellate Division the receipt of the $25m deal inked on October 6, 2010 during the appeal hearing. But the court expressed its displeasure as the government was yet to take legal action against the war criminal and his associates involved with the deal. In its verdict declared on March 8 this year, the Appellate Division said that Quasem had engaged a lobbyist firm on payment of $25m "to influence the government of the United States with a view to postponing the trial process." The receipt of payment reads: "Confirmation of receipt of the Amount of Twenty Five Million US Dollars from Mr Mir Kashem Ali for Professional Services to be Provided." The defence argued that there was no basis in support of the contention of the attorney general, but the allegation had not been established. Second contract In 2011, Quasem and his brother Mir Masum Ali hired Cassidy & Associates for $310,000 to influence US politicians and government officials against the tribunal proceedings. Cassidy’s website says the fee paid by Quasem in the first quarter of 2011 was among the largest quarterly fees incurred by any of its 140 clients that year. Only about a dozen clients paid more. Final contract According to information available, two pro-Jamaat organizations based in the USA hired two lobbyist firms in early 2014 to work to get members of the US Congress to condemn the actions of the war crimes tribunal and raise public awareness among the US public. But the amount spent could not be known. New York-based Organisation for Peace and Justice (OPJ) appointed Cassidy & Associates in April 2014 to "engage members of the US Congress to support a congressional resolution condemning the actions of the ICT [International Crimes Tribunal] and to use best efforts to include anti-ICT legislative language" in the legislative bodies. The OPJ is run by sympathisers of Jamaat and its mission is to assist the party and its members in Bangladesh. Cassidy then sub-contracted two other firms named Cloakroom Advisors and Kglobal. Both firms were appointed to carry out the same tasks as Cassidy; but in addition, they would "conduct outreach to the Department of State (South and Central Asia Bureau and International Operations)." As per the contract, the Organisation for Peace and Justice was supposed to pay Cassidy a total of $50,000 over a period of three months as a lobbying fee. The second pro-Jamaat organization that is lobbying against the war crimes trial in the USA is called the Human Rights Development in Bangladesh (HRDB). In March 2014, the HRDB appointed another US lobbyist firm Just Consulting LLC which was later renamed Grieboski Global Strategies. Grieboski was tasked with reaching out to and influencing the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, the US Department of State and the US Congress against the war crimes trials.

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Bangladesh

Dhaka protests Pakistan reaction over Quasem’s execution

2016-09-05

[Dhaka Tribune] "Pakistain is deeply saddened over the execution of the prominent leader of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , Bangladesh, Mir Quasem Ali ...Jamaat-e-Islamic Central Committee member and Saudi money man in Bangla. Currently waiting to be hanged.... , for the alleged crimes committed before December 1971, through a flawed judicial process," reads the foreign office statement. Bangladesh has protested Pakistain’s reaction over the execution of condemned 1971 war criminal Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali. Additional Foreign Secretary for bilateral affairs Qamrul Ahsan summoned Pak envoy Samina Mehtab on Sunday and protested the Islamabad’s reaction, reports BSS. "The opinion that Pakistain gave over the execution of Mir Quasem Ali was entirely tantamount to interference in Bangladesh’s internal affairs," Ahsan told journalists after the envoy left the foreign office. "We have told the envoy that Quasem had scopes to appeal against the judgment and he exhausted the scopes. The apex court thought he deserved the punishment what he was handed down as he took part in the genocides in 1971," the additional foreign secretary said. He said Dhaka told Islamabad that Quasem’s trial "took place in a very transparent manner in front of everybody". Mehtab was escorted to the additional foreign secretary’s chamber at 3:15pm and came out at 3:35pm. "Nothing much to say," the envoy told the journalists while they were seeking her comments over the issue. Mir Quasem Ali was hanged on Saturday night for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. In a statement released into six hours of Jamaat leader’s execution, the External Affairs Ministry of Pakistain condemned the execution. "Pakistain is deeply saddened over the execution of the prominent leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh, Mir Quasem Ali, for the alleged crimes committed before December 1971, through a flawed judicial process," reads the foreign office statement. It offered the deepest condolences to the bereaved family. The statement also said: "The act of suppressing the Opposition, through flawed trials, is completely against the spirit of democracy. Ever since the beginning of the trials, several international organizations, human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... groups, and international legal figures have raised objections to the court proceedings, especially regarding fairness and transparency, as well as harassment of lawyers and witnesses representing the accused.

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Bangladesh

Witnesses: Mir Quasem’s son tried to buy us off

2016-09-04

[Dhaka Tribune] Witnesses who testified in the trial of Mir Quasem Ali ...Jamaat-e-Islamic Central Committee member and Saudi money man in Bangla. Currently waiting to be hanged.... waited with bated breath for the execution of the convicted war criminal last night, saying they could only relax after receiving news of his death The witnesses and wartime victims of the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... leader, who led al-Badr Bahini ‐ a local affiliation of Pakistain occupational forces in 1971, demanded speedy execution of the death penalty after the Supreme Court rejected his review petition on August 30. They said Mir Quasem’s son, Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, a barrister at the Supreme Court, tried to buy them off to prevent them from testifying against his father. His family has a lot of money which they did not hesitate to use to save him, they said. But Mir Quasem must face the consequences of the crimes he committed during the war, or the sacrifices of the Liberation War deaders would have been in vain, they said. In an immediate reaction after the review rejection verdict, freedom fighter and journalist Nasir Uddin Chowdhury said: "I am relieved to see the death penalty being executed. Mir Quesem thought money could buy everything for him. He offered the witnesses money, and threatened to kill them when they refused to take it. We put up with a lot to see this day." Freedom fighter Jahangir Chowdhury was one of the witnesses in the case ‐ he was held captive at Dalim Hotel in Chittagong, one of the torture cells set up by Mir Quasem’s al-Badr Bahini during the war.

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Bangladesh

Quasem swings for war crimes

2016-09-04

A top Islamist party figure was hanged in Bangladesh on Saturday for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, the country’s law minister said, an act that could draw an angry reaction from his supporters. Mir Quasem Ali, 63, a key financier of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was executed at Kashimpur Central Jail on the outskirts of the capital for murder, confinement, torture and incitement to religious hatred during the war fought to break away from Pakistan. Ali was hanged at 10.35pm local time, law minister Anisul Haq told Reuters. The execution took place amid a spate of militant attacks in the Muslim-majority nation, the most serious on 1 July, when gunmen stormed a cafe in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter and killed 20 hostages, most of them foreigners. Thousands of extra police and border guards were deployed in Dhaka and other major cities. Previous convictions and executions have triggered violence that has killed about 200 people, most of them Islamist party activists, and police. Since December 2013, five Jamaat leaders, including former top leader Motiur Rahman Nizami, and a leader of the main opposition party, have been executed for crimes committed during the 1971 war. Prosecutors said Nizami was responsible for setting up the pro-Pakistani al-Badr militia, which killed leading writers, doctors and journalists in the most gruesome chapter of the war. Their bodies were found blindfolded with their hands tied and dumped in a marsh at the outskirts of the capital. The trial heard Nizami had ordered the killings, designed to “intellectually cripple” the fledgling nation. He was hanged in May after being convicted in October 2014 by the international crimes tribunal, set up by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, in 2010. The tribunal has drawn criticism from opposition politicians, who say it is targeting their political foes. The government denies the accusations. Human rights groups say the tribunal’s procedures fall short of international standards, but the government rejects that assertion, and the trials are supported by many Bangladeshis. Fair enough for that region. No need to bring in Carla del Ponte... Official figures show about 3 million people were killed and thousands of women were raped during the nine-month war, in which some factions, including Jamaat-e-Islami, opposed the breakaway. Independent researchers put the death toll at between 300,000 and 500,000.

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Bangladesh

War criminal Quasem won’t seek presidential mercy

2016-09-03

[Dhaka Tribune] Death-row war crimes convict Mir Quasem Ali ...Jamaat-e-Islamic Central Committee member and Saudi money man in Bangla. Currently waiting to be hanged.... has told the jail authorities that he would not beg the president to spare his life. This means, the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... leader, whose atrocities during the Liberation War in Chittagong earned him the nickname ’Bangali Khan’, can be executed any time now. Kashimpur Central Jail-2 Superintendent Prashanta Kumar Banik told the Dhaka Tribune that Quasem had informed them of his decision on Friday afternoon. "We asked him about his decision [to seek presidential clemency] and he said he won’t," Prashanta said. Asked if they were prepared to carry out the death sentence, the jail superintendent said they would "follow orders from the higher ups". Quasem had spent a huge sum of money to appoint a US lobbyist to make the war crimes trials controversial.

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Bangladesh

Mir Quasem seeks time to decide on mercy petition

2016-09-01

[Dhaka Tribune] IG Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin said that Mir Quasem Ali ...Jamaat-e-Islamic Central Committee member and Saudi money man in Bangla. Currently waiting to be hanged.... will get maximum seven days to file a mercy petition. Death-row convict Mir Quasem Ali has sought time from the Kashimpur jail authorities to decide on whether he would seek presidential clemency. Jail super Proshanto Kumar Banik of Kashimpur Central Jail 2 read out the Supreme Court’s review verdict to Mir Quasem Ali on Wednesday morning. After listening to the verdict, Mir Quasem said he sought time from the jail authorities to decide on whether he would apply for presidential mercy, said Prashant Kumar. "We will inform the higher authorities about the matter." Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats Chumbaloni was staring into a hole that was just .45 inch in diameter and was less than three feet from his face ... IG Prisons Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin said that Mir Quasem Ali will get maximum seven days to file a mercy petition. He told the news hounds in Dhaka that the meeting between Quasem and his family members is a regular affair. "No decision is yet to taken in which jail Mir Quasem Ali will be hanged," he also said.

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Bangladesh

Jamaat calls hartal for Wednesday

2016-08-31

[Dhaka Tribune] Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has called a daylong hartal for Wednesday protesting the reinstatement of death sentence by the Supreme Court to condemned war criminal Mir Quasem Ali for his crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

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Bangladesh

SC upholds Mir Quasem’s death penalty

2016-08-31

[Dhaka Tribune] The Supreme Court has upheld death sentence for condemned war criminal Mir Quasem Ali ...Jamaat-e-Islamic Central Committee member and Saudi money man in Bangla. Currently waiting to be hanged.... for his crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971. A five-member Appellate Division panel headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha gave the verdict on Tuesday morning, rejecting Mir Quasem’s appeal to review his death penalty. The same bench conducted the hearing of the review plea on August 24 and 28. A top Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... leader and financier, Quasem filed the review petition after the apex court published its full verdict and the International Crimes Tribunal issued the death warrant against him on June 6. The war crimes tribunal sentenced Quasem, now 64, to death on November 3, 2014 on two charges including killing seven people after abduction in Chittagong. He was also awarded a total of 72-year imprisonment on eight other proven charges of abduction, conspiracy and planning. Later, the Appellate Division upheld the death sentence on March 9. Quasem’s family and his party terms the judgement a "judicial killing." A key player behind the formation of notorious al-Badr force in Chittagong during the Liberation War, Quasem had set up makeshift torture camps at different places in the port city including Daleem Hotel in Andorkilla area. He was known as "Bangali Khan" (Khan referred to as Pak occupation forces) for his atrocities. According to the government, Quasem has also spent a large amount of money to appoint US-based lobbyists to make the war crimes trials controversial.

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Bangladesh

Jamaat calls hartal for Wednesday

2016-03-09

[Dhaka Tribune] Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... has called a countrywide hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... for Wednesday, protesting the Supreme Court verdict that upheld death penalty for their party leader Mir Quasem Ali ...Jamaat-e-Islamic Central Committee member and Saudi money man in Bangla. Currently waiting to be hanged.... The party announced the hartal on its website after the verdict was delivered on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court upheld the war tribunal’s death sentence awarded to Mir Quasem Ali for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War. However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... ambulances, body carrying freezing vans and vehicles of hospitals and fire services will be out of the hartal purview. The party alleged that the government has been killing their leaders one after another in a planned way as part of conspiracy. It also said Mir Quasem was deprived of justice in the verdict. "Mir Quasem will file review petition. We hope he will get aquittal if justice is ensured," the party said in a statement.

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Bangladesh

Daleem Hotel survivors still haunted by torture

2016-03-09

[Dhaka Tribune] Survivors of Daleem Hotel, used by Mir Quasem Ali ...Jamaat-e-Islamic Central Committee member and Saudi money man in Bangla. Currently waiting to be hanged.... as a torture cell during 1971 Liberation War, yesterday hailed the Supreme Court verdict of upholding death sentence for the war criminal, saying it cleansed Chittagong of a stigma. During the war, the local al-Badr forces grabbed the Mohamaya Bhaban from a Hindu family in the city’s Andarkilla, renamed it Daleem Hotel and set up a torture cell. Describing Daleem Hotel as a death factory, the International Crimes Tribunal said pro-liberation people were tortured and killed there under the leadership of the notorious Mir Quasem. Syed Md Emran, a prosecution witness and a group commander of Liberation Force freedom fighters, narrated how he endured 16 days of torture at Daleem Hotel. "I was a first-year graduate student when I joined the Liberation War. In the early hours of November 30, Mir Quasem and his men besieged my house and detained me along with my elder brother. Ten to twelve more freedom fighters were picked up from different parts of the city. "We were taken to Daleem Hotel where we were tortured brutally. During confinement, I was mostly kept blindfolded and my arms and legs were tied. I was hit with sticks and electric wire for information about freedom fighters. Quasem, who controlled the torture camp, interrogated me himself," said Emran, who along with some 150 other detainees were rescued by freedom fighters from the torture cell. Another survivor, freedom fighter Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, said: "I was caught from Andarkilla area on November 30 and was taken to Daleem Hotel. The captives in the makeshift torture cell were tortured brutally for information about the whereabouts of freedom fighters. "We were given electric shocks, hung upside down and beaten with iron rods. They also pressed burning cigarette butts against our bodies to extract information." Jahangir Chowdhury, who was the deputy chief of Joy Bangla Bahini, said: "Mir Quasem’s son tried to convince me so that I do not testify against the war criminal. However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... I told him that I will testify against Quasem despite all odds. Now I am over the moon with the verdict. "I was held captive and tortured for 26 days. Cruel forms of tortures were inflicted on us. We were kept in crammed rooms and there was no toilet for us. If the captives asked for drinking water, they were given urine instead." Another survivor, Chittagong Independent University’s acting vice-chancellor Prof Dr Irshad Kamal Khan said: "The captives were blindfolded and their arms and legs were tied. We were served meal once a day. I cannot say for sure how many days I was held captive in the camp. We used to hear groans and screams coming from different rooms of the torture cell at different times of the day." Apart from Daleem Hotel, the port city had other makeshift torture cells in Nandan Kanon’s Islamia Hotel, Panchlaish’s Salma Manjil, Chamrar Gudam’s Dost Mohammad Building, and Dewanhat’s Dewan Hotel, according to Liberation War researcher Dr Mahfizur Rahman.

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Bangladesh

Mir Quasem's death penalty upheld

2016-03-09

[Dhaka Tribune] The apex court yesterday upheld the death sentence of Chittagong al-Badr kingpin Mir Quasem Ali ...Jamaat-e-Islamic Central Committee member and Saudi money man in Bangla. Currently waiting to be hanged.... , who had earned titles like Bangali Khan and Sarder for leading the militia group to collaborate with the Pak occupation forces against the pro-liberation people in 1971. The order paves the way for Quasem's walk to gallows for the crimes against humanity he had committed during the Liberation War including abduction, torture and murder of freedom fighters at torture cells in the port city. A five-member full bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, delivered the short verdict before a packed courtroom at 9:42am yesterday. The convict will get 15 days after the top court publishes its full verdict to file a review petition. If the petition is rejected or the convict does not file a petition, he will get a chance to seek the president's mercy. In case of its rejection or if he does not seek clemency, the government will carry out the sentence of the International Crimes Tribunal given in 2014. The judgement was applauded by all quarters including those who had expressed doubts over Quasem's capital punishment in the backdrop of a rumour of the chief justice's favouring the defence in the case. The defence said that they would file a review petition while Quasem's party Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , like the previous instances, called a daylong countrywide shutdown for today terming the verdict a "judicial killing." The apex court upheld the Jamaat leader's sentences on seven charges, including one which had brought him death in the war crimes case. He was acquitted from three other proven charges including the one that earned him death. Quasem's death was upheld for the abduction, torture and murder of 15-year-old freedom fighter Jasim of Sandwip in confinement at al-Badr torture cell in Daleem Hotel in Andarkilla area of Chittagong. According to the charge, any time after the Eid-ul-Fitr day of 1971, Quasem made a plan and at his instigating, the members of al-Badr force kidnapped Jasim from an unknown place of the Chittagong City and took him to Daleem Hotel.

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