Defence brings Mir Quasem’s riches into play at hearing for review of death penalty

Mir Quasem Ali’s defence has brought up the riches of the top financier of the Jamaat-e-Islami at the final hearing in the Supreme Court for a review of his death penalty for war crimes.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 28 August 2016, 08:25 PM
Updated : 29 August 2016, 09:36 PM

But the top appeals court made it clear at Sunday’s proceedings that the conviction for a crime cannot be reversed purely on the measure of wealth.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam referred to the memo the State had presented to the court stating that Mir Quasem had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to engage lobbyists in desperation to stop the war crimes trial.

Hearings on the review petition at the five-strong bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha wrapped up on Sunday. Mir Quasem’s fate will be known on Tuesday.

The International Crimes Tribunal verdict cited the crimes against humanity he had committed as the Chittagong area commander of the Al-Badr, a militia formed with members of the Islami Chhatra Sangha to help the Pakistan Army during the 1971 war.

Mir Quasem Ali

The founding president of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, he has been member of the Jamaat's Central Executive Council since 1985 and played an important role in the party that violently opposed Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in the 1971 war.

Mir Quasem, a terror during 1971 in Chittagong, has proved to be a shrewd businessman and politician by rapidly rising through the ranks and raising the party’s fortunes. The 63-year old media tycoon had pumped billions into the Jamaat since the mid-1980s to become the party’s financial backbone.

At one point of the hearing on Sunday, his chief counsel Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, in trying to give the court examples of his ‘philanthropy’, mentioned that Mir Quasem had founded Ibne Sina and Islami Bank hospitals. “These are his contributions.” 

Describing his clients ‘contribution in the economy, Khandaker Mahbub talked of the ‘part the Jamaat leader played’ in the establishment of Islami Bank, which stands accused of financing militancy.

Chief Justice Sinha interrupted him to say who contributed how much in the economy is not a matter for the court to consider.

“I will give you an example, Hyundai of South Korea had made their country famous the world over. But their chairman was sentenced to three years in jail (for corruption). Therefore, we will not consider contributions to the economy.

The hearing over, Khandaker Mahbub told journalists, “Mir Quasem Ali has played an important role in Bangladesh’s economy. In the service sector, he has set up Ibne Sina and many other hospitals.

“He was involved with the news media, was a TV executive. He did social work. If there was an inkling of doubt in his mind, he (would not have come back from abroad when the case against him was being investigated.)

The senior lawyer described Mir Quasem as someone who is “decent, sober and a gentleman” and pleaded with the court to take these factors into account in judging his case.

Attorney General Alam also spoke to journalists about Khandaker Mahbub bringing up Mir Quasem's wealth as an argument.

"He, who is dubbed innocent today, spent ($ 25 million) on lobbying. I have submitted the related papers to the court," he said.

The court said it did not take the papers related to the convict's wealth as evidence, but the 'amount Alam mentioned' did not seem 'excessive' considering the 15 to 16 companies owned by Mir Quasem that were mentioned in the bail petition.

Alam said, "What they (defence) want to say is that he is a benevolent person. I've told the court that he appointed lobbyists by splashing out ($ 25 million), a fact which the defence did not dismiss. A person like him, who can appoint foreign lobbyists to stop trial, does not deserve to be pardoned."

The ICT sentenced him to death for 1971 war crimes on Nov 2, 2014. The Appellate Division upheld the sentence on Mar 8.

If the top court brings no change to its appeals verdict on Tuesday, Mir Quasem will only have presidential clemency left to escape the noose. If he doesn't seek president's pardon or if the president turns down his mercy petition, there will be no bar to his death sentence being carried out.