Some say it’s a sign of the times; Two persons convicted and sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 are now free men. While one of them, Mobarak Hossain, was acquitted by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the other Jamaat leader, Azharul Islam, was acquitted four months ago, and critics say the interim government of Mohammad Yunus is soft on such extremists.
Important to note that Hossain had been sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh, which noted that “It is well-proved that the accused was a member of Razakar Bahini at his locality during the Liberation War in 1971 and he actively and directly participated in different atrocious activities committed by local Razakar Bahini in association with the Pakistani occupation force.”
The Tribunal, while acquitting him of three charges, sentenced him to death for “Abduction, torture and killing of 33 unarmed civilians on the bank of Ganga Sagar Dighi of village Tanmandayl under Akhaura Police Station, District- Brahmanbaria.” Hossain, of course, had appealed against the ruling 11 years ago and is now free.
As for Jamaat-e-Islami leader Azharul Islam, the charges against him included rape, abduction, and charges of murder during the 1971 war. The Jamaat had opposed the war of liberation that saw East Pakistan break away and emerge as Bangladesh, siding with the Pakistani army. In this context, the acquittal of Azharul Islam sparked protests among left-leaning students in Dhaka University and Rajshahi University.
Shimul Kumbhakar of the Bangladesh Students Union warned that if the “Interim government continues releasing Razakar and Al Badr (Pak army collaborators) members and fully absolving them of their crimes, it will face the same downfall as the fascist Hasina regime.”
It remains to be seen how many more such acquittals take place under Mohammad Yunus’ watch. Recall that under Sheikh Hasina, no less than five prominent leaders who had opposed the liberation war and supported the Pakistan Army’s genocide were hanged. Clearly, times have changed.
(This article was written by Tisya Sharma. She is an intern at StratNews Global.)
