Chief defence counsel of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders accused of war crimes has appealed to party activists to demonstrate ‘peacefully’ against the execution of its leader Abdul Quader Molla for liberation war-time atrocities.Counsel Barrister Abdur Razzaq, also a Jamaat Assistant Secretary General, urged the security personnel not to bar peaceful demonstrations.
Jamaat activists have unleashed countrywide violence following Molla’s hanging on Thursday night. It called a shutdown for Sunday. Houses of ruling Awami League leaders have come under attack in several parts of Bangladesh.
Several supporters of the Jamaat have died in clashes with police.
“We are sympathetic to the emotions of Abdul Quader Molla’s supporters and urge them to express their grief in peaceful manners,” Razzaq said in a statement on Sunday.
Molla, the first person to walk the gallows in Bangladesh for war crimes, was hanged on Thursday night.
He claimed the law under which Molla was tried was ‘faulty’. “One mistake cannot justify another,” he said.
The chief defence counsel said international legal experts were of the view that the law was ‘flawed’. “Even those countries that have provisions for the maximum penalty had requested the government to refrain from carrying out the sentence,” said Razzaq.
“We are clearly stating that the verdicts handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal and the Supreme Court were wrong,” he said.
Razzaq said expressing opinions was a constitutional right of the people. “Please allow the people to peacefully express their opinions,” he said addressing the law enforcing agencies. – bdnews24.com
