People rejoice at Kamaruzzaman hanging, say justice finally served

Tens of thousands around Bangladesh have burst into celebrations at the news of the execution of Al-Badr operative, Jamaat-e-Islami leader and war criminal Mohammad Kamaruzzaman.

The 65-year old Jamaat-e-Islami henchman was hanged at 10:01pm on Saturday for his atrocities to abort the birth of Bangladesh in 1971.

TV footage showed people gathered at Shahbagh crossway rejoice at the execution, shouting slogans and saying justice has finally been delivered.

They also renewed their demand for death penalty of all war criminals.

Imran H Sarkar, spokesperson for Ganajagaran Mancha, commented that the hanging was the “victory of the people” and “justice has finally been served”.

“I thank the prime minister for executing death penalty of two war criminals braving all sorts of pressures, local and international… Today is the day of our victory.”

“We are happy that the execution has been carried out. We will celebrate this victory at Sohagpur on April 14.”

Ganajagaran Mancha, the secular, youth-led platform, has been campaigning for maximum penalty permissible under the law for war criminals.

They have been staging demonstrations at the intersection since Apr 5 for the execution of the Jamaat leader.

In immediate comments, Ekattorer Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee’s acting chief Shahriar Kabir told bdnews24.com that Kamaruzzaman’s execution would provide some comfort to the souls of three million martyrs.

“This was expected for the past 40 years. It took 40 years to carry out the hanging.”

“This will ease the pain of the martyrs. They have died before seeing the trials (of the war criminals),” Kabir said.

Only two of the war criminals have been executed so far, he said, “We still have to go far.”

Residents of Sohagpur, the village that faced the Al-Badr leader at his most brutal, were happy that his victims can now finally rest in peace.

On Jun 25, 1971, Kamaruzzaman led the Pakistan Army to the village, killing 120 men and raping their women. So many were widowed that the place was called the ‘village of widows’.

The genocide was one of the two charges for which the ICT awarded him death.

“The acts of the accused (Kamaruzzaman) can be comparable with none but beasts,” the Appellate Division said in its verdict. “Even Nazis did not perpetrate similar nature of brutal acts.”

Hundreds of people thronged Dhaka Central Jail, the venue for the much-awaited execution, in the afternoon after Kamaruzzaman’s family entered the jail to meet him.

Police, using loudspeakers, asked the people to clear the area in the evening but could do little to ebb the enthusiasm.

The crowd broke into cheers and many were seen weeping from the joy at the death of the Jamaat leader.

Akbar Ali, a confectioner from old Dhaka who was at the jail gate for quite a while, said, “We have seen the verdict of Razakar Kamaruzzaman finally being executed.

“It has been proved again that war criminals will be tried and hanged in [Bangladesh]. We are overjoyed.”

‘Shibli’, a grocer and resident of Begum Bazar, said, “I closed shop and came to the prison after hearing that the execution will take place. I am very happy that even though so many days have passed, the verdict has been carried out.”

A special tribunal on May 9, 2013, sentenced the Al-Badr regional commander to death for his atrocities during the war.

A year later, the Appellate Division confirmed the verdict, calling him a ‘beast’, and observed his crimes were “worse than the Nazis”.

Last Monday, Chief Justice SK Sinha-led bench threw out his plea for a review of the death penalty.

The Jamaat-e-Islami senior assistant secretary general’s family met him in prison on Apr 6 following a call from the jail authorities.

A copy of the final verdict reached the jail on Apr 8 and was read out to him. The only thing blocking his execution was the issue of presidential mercy.

Two district magistrates met him on Friday to ask him if he would seek pardon. State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Saturday said the convict decided not to beg the president for mercy like the other war criminal Molla.

Later in the day, Kamaruzzaman’s family met him for one last time in jail.

Several organisations demanded his execution while some international groups, opposing death penalty, urged the government to commute the sentence.