BHRC calls for immediate suspension of death sentences

Toby Cadman @tobycadman 

BHRC calls for immediate suspension of death sentences https://barhumanrights.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/biblio/statement_re._kamaruzzaman_and_nizami_11.11.14.pdf …

Toby Cadman @tobycadman 

It’s highly revealing that neither @bdnews24 nor the The Daily Star in Bangladesh have mentioned @StateDept_GCJ’s statement yesterday

Joe Catron @jncatron 

Abbas says Israel igniting ‚religious war‘ http://aje.me/1wP6SkO  via @AJEnglish

AJE News @AJENews

Breaking news: Palestinian man shot dead at the Arroub camp near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. More soon.

CJA expresses grave concern over the impending execution of Mohammad Kamaruzzman, who was sentenced to death by the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal for his involvement in the 1971 War of Independence. Given the Tribunal’s repeated failure to uphold recognized standards of due process in proceedings before the court, Bangladeshi authorities must establish an official moratorium on executions immediately, and establish an internationally supervised judicial process to ensure that the victims of the 1971 conflict see justice through an impartial, independent, and transparent process. CJA echoes the concerns of U.S. War Crimes Ambassador Stephen Rapp over the problematic procedure used to prosecute Kamaruzzman and the restrictions on evidence imposed on the defense. While Bangladesh has the authority and responsibility to hold perpetrators accountable for these serious crimes, the trials must meet the country’s international obligations of fairness and due process, especially when the death penalty is imposed. Read more, here: http://bit.ly/1tAp4sq

The United States War Crimes Ambassador and Head of the US State Department Office of Global Criminal Justice today spoke to two journalists (David Bergman and a journalist from Prothom Alo) on the Appeal Judgment in the case of Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and the Government plans to carry out his execution in circumstances that the defence consider would violate national and international law.

The Ambassador has long been a critic of the failure to maintain national and international standards in Bangladesh. He has consistently maintained that the US Government supports a domestic process of accountability and has taken the point that whilst there have been some improvements there is still room for significant improvement.

The Ambassador started by reading out the following statement:

„The United States supports bringing to justice those who committed atrocities in the 1971 Bangladesh war of independence. In doing so, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) trials must be free, fair, and transparent, and in accordance with international obligations that Bangladesh has agreed to uphold through its ratification of international agreements, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

„Countries that impose a death penalty must do so with great care, in accordance with a very high standard of due process and respect for fair trial guarantees. It is inevitable that scrutiny will be heightened when a death penalty is pronounced. Therefore judges, as well as authorities having powers of commutation, should exercise great caution before imposing and implementing a sentence of death.

„As I said during my fifth visit to Bangladesh in August 2014, we have seen some progress, but still believe that further improvements to the ICT process could ensure these proceedings meet domestic and international obligations. Until it can be shown that these obligations have been met, it is best not to proceed with executions given the irreversibility of a death sentence.“

It is important that the Ambassador has set out the U.S. Government’s concerns considering that during the Ambassador’s last visit to Bangladesh, during August 2014, he was incorrectly quoted as stating the U.S. Government fully supports the trial process. It is important that such blatant misreporting is corrected.

The full Q&A is likely to be published by David Bergman and Prothom Alo who spoke to the Ambassador at 3pm (Dhaka Time) this afternoon.

David Bergman @davidbangladesh 

US ‚WarCrimes‘ ambassador criticises conviction of Kamaruzzman for Sohagpur massacre, says not apply law correctly http://newagebd.net/65600/us-calls-for-halt-to-kamaruzzaman-execution/#sthash.MRsTjDaj.dpbs …