Jamaat thanks UN, US for Molla efforts

The Jamaat-e-Islami has thanked United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry for their efforts to halt the hanging of war crimes convict Abdul Quader Molla.

The party’s acting chief Maqbul Ahmad said in two letters to Ban and Kerry on Dec 19 they had expressed their gratitude.

Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Quader Molla was put to death on Dec 12 for his atrocities during the Liberation War.

Citing the letters, the Jamaat on its website said “innocent” Molla had been executed for “political reasons”.

“Your intervention has generated a lot of debate in Bangladesh and highlighted the flaws in the trial and reasons why the conviction was unsafe,” read the letter.

“The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the opposition political parties and most of the international community see the execution as a political murder,” the party claimed in the letter adding the intervention had “meant a lot” to the friends and family of Molla.

“We hope that you will continue in your efforts to convince the Government of Bangladesh not to execute any more innocent members of the opposition political parties,” it said.

Molla was the first person to be hanged for war crimes in Bangladesh.

Two tribunals, trying atrocities committed 42 years ago, have until now sentenced 10 persons in nine cases.

Eight of them are former or current member of the party, which was dubbed a ‘criminal organisation’ by the tribunals, and its affiliates.

Two of the convicts belong to Jamaat’s key ally, the BNP.