Execution of Maulana Nizami Strongly Condemned by ICNA

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The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) strongly condemns the execution today of Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami, the Ameer (Chief) of Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami party by the current regime and declares it another shameful act of judicial killing which is part of the ongoing brutal persecution of political opponents by Shaikh Hasina’s government.

On 29 October 2014, he was sentenced to death by the so called International Crimes Tribunal-1 of Bangladesh. The sham “International Crime Tribunals” and their proceedings have been declared against the international legal standards by almost all global institutions including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch etc. They have criticized the government for aspects of their progress, lack of transparency, and reported harassment of defense lawyers and witnesses representing the accused. “Harassment of defense counsel and witnesses further tarnishes a flawed process,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “If the Bangladeshi government wants these trials to be taken seriously it must ensure that the rights of the accused are fully respected. That means making sure that lawyers and witnesses don’t face threats or coercion.” A complete detail of these harassment cases can be seen on the Human Rights Watch website here.

The Bangladeshi government has ignored – all requests by world leaders, US Senators, members of Congress, members of UK House of Lords – and continues to unjustly accuse, try, and punish members of Jamaat-e-Islami party. Critics insist that the trials are politically-motivated as the Hasina government wants to weaken the opposition and establish a single-party dictatorship in Bangladesh. According to Toby M. Cadman, a renowned international barrister and an expert on war crimes tribunals, the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunals (ICT) fall short of international standards and violates norms of fair trial spelled out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which Bangladesh is bound by.

Maulana Nizami was elected to the Parliament for two terms (1991-95 & 2001-2006). He was the former Agriculture Minister (2001-2003) and Industry Minister (2003-2006) of Bangladesh. He was also the permanent Member of the Muslim World League (Rabita) which is the Central Co-Ordination Committee among International Islamic Organizations and Centers. He was the Central President (1969-1971) of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Pakistan, which was then the largest student organization of Pakistan. He did his Masters in Islamic law with distinction. He is a Graduate of Dhaka University. Maulana Nizami was a Prominent Islamic Scholar & Author of 54 valuable books in different disciplines. He was named as one of the most top 50 Influential Muslims of the World in 2009 by USA based prestigious “the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center”.