Pirojpur-1 ‘paddy sheaf’ candidate Shameem Bin Sayedee is seeking votes to release his father Delwar Hossain Sayedee, the war crimes convict who has been jailed until death.
Published : 27 Dec 2018, 03:47 AM
Shameem recently released a video clip on social media and other online platforms to seek votes in the parliamentary election on Dec 30.
In the video clip, he urges voters to vote for ‘paddy sheaf’ in order to pursue the release of his father as well as the BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and its Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman, who is now acting as the chief from exile.
Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Amir Sayedee was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Feb 28, 2013.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to imprisonment until death on Sept 17, 2014.
On Jan 17 last year, Sayeedi filed a petition requesting the court to reconsider its verdict and grant him acquittal. The state in turn sought an order to increase his punishment to a death sentence.
But the Appellate Division rejected both applications on May 15, 2017, upholding its previous verdict.
Sayedee is currently serving the sentence in prison.
The court has cancelled the Jamaat’s registration with the Election Commission, but around two dozen leaders of the party are contesting in the polls as candidates of the BNP’s Jatiya Oikya Front alliance with the ‘paddy sheaf’ symbol.
Several quarters have criticised the BNP for giving the Jamaat the opportunity to contest in the election.
Even Mahbubur Rahman, a member of the BNP’s policymaking body the National Standing Committee, has termed “unfortunate” his party’s alliance with the Jamaat, which opposed Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in the 1971 Liberation War.
“The Jamaat is known as a war criminal party. The BNP cannot have any relations with them. It’s unfortunate to allow any member of a war criminal to use the ‘paddy sheaf’ symbol. The BNP must take responsibility for the act,” he told bdnews24.com.
Shameem’s video message was uploaded on a Facebook page, ‘Islamer Itihas’, on Monday midnight.
bdnews24.com could not reach him on his phone for comments on his promise to free a convicted war criminal if elected..
Shahriar Kabir, president of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, which works to eliminate the collaborators of the Pakistani army from Bangladesh, says Shameem has challenged the country’s judiciary and constitution by making such a pledge in a video message.
“His (Shameem’s) candidacy should be cancelled for violating the electoral code of conduct,” Shahriar said.
He blamed the BNP and Oikya Front chief Dr Kamal Hossain for giving Shameem the opportunity to contest in the election.
“Ask Kamal Hossain if they have joined the election to free Sayedee,” Shahriar said.
No Oikya Front leader agreed to comment on the issue.
Earlier Dr Kamal had apologised following intense criticism for asking a reporter to “shut up” after facing questions on the Jamaat on the Martyred Intellectuals Day. He later avoided questions on same issue.