Hanged Motiur Rahman Nizami, Bangladesh Islamist leader
The defense of the former member of Jamaat-e-Islami complaint to ABC, however, that the prosecution has not been able to provide evidence of his client's involvement in the crimes committed during the 1971 independence war.
Motiur Rahman Nizami, leader of the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, was executed Wednesday in Bangladesh for atrocities committed during the 1971 independence war.
Nizami, 73, and former Minister of Industry and Agriculture, was in prison since 2010, when he was accused of war crimes by the tribunal created that same year (called ICT) by the current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to judge wave of terror during the secession of Bangladesh.
However, for lawyer Toby Cadman, who since 2010 represents members of Jamaat-e-Islami, the prosecution has not been able to provide evidence of his client's involvement in the genocide.
"The accusation is based on a testimony they were to be based almost exclusively on hearsay, without real evidence of their direct involvement in the allegations (...) Numerous documents, including newspaper clippings, intelligence reports and identity cards were made available to the court. However, none of these documents show that Nizami was even a member of Al Badr (paramilitary wing of the Pakistan army during the Civil War), much less a commander as alleged "ABC highlights Cadman. The attorney also recalls how witnesses have admitted being forced, bribed, and in some cases tortured to give false testimony against Nizami.
In 2013, the Jamaat-e-Islami party was banned on charges of collaborating with the Pakistani army in its operations against groups pro independence of Bangladesh in 1971. It is estimated that during the nine months of the conflict, at least 300,000 nationalists Bengalis were killed. Some sources even raised the death toll to three million. In 2010, the ICT was created to prosecute these crimes.
"The ICT is an example of how the rule of law has been abandoned in Bangladesh when it does not suit the political purpose of the Awami League (the ruling party in the country). The reality is that ICT is simply a weapon of the Awami League, which is used to undermine and eradicate political opposition to ensure that it can further consolidate its grip on power is, "says Cadman.
In November, two of his clients, Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Jamaat-e-Islami, were hanged in 2013 on charges of crimes against humanity.
"The ICT has always worked on the basis that its initial starting point for sentencing is to impose the death penalty. The legislation has been interpreted as indicating that, although this interpretation is clearly incorrect, "added Cadman.
