Untold Facts

Not Justice seen but Judicial Murder

That the Review Petition for the much expected for fair justice free from interference of the top political executive in the ‘Mujib Murder’ case rejected on the 27th January (2010) ends the run for the clear orchestration of private vengeance that began right from August 1996 to this day in 2010. The vengeance was further manifested this time clearly in the midnight execution in minutes in an unusual rush of the five accused caring nothing for the Mercy petition made to the President who on the other day did grant Mercy to one young fugitive person who happened to be the son the of the Deputy Leader of the government party in the Parliament.

That the trial in the case violated number of basic legal premises such as arbitrary cancellation of the 1975 Indemnity Act, manipulation of the Army Chief’s clearance to try the army men (Farook etc) in civilian courts, etc. went on from the very start remained overlooked for many others involved that would, according one Supreme Court Judge, “After one hundred years, everybody will say that the judgment was not a judgment at all”. (The Daily Independent, Dhaka, 26th March 2002). And according to another retired Supreme Court Judge: ‘The then Bangladesh Army Chief Shafiullh should get hanged before hanging Farook’ (The exact Bengali verbatim was published in the Dhaka dailies Nayadiganta, Amardesh, etc on the 16 August 2008). One former Chief Justice on the 26th March 2001 with BBC Bengali Service Radio and some other renowned intellectuals like Farhad Mazhar, etc. also clearly stated that the 15th August 1975 was not only an act of murder but political change through mutiny was closely linked with that.

That the trial was not one of free judiciary but a POLITICL TRIAL engineered by the top executive was clearly headlined on the 27th November (09) by the international weekly The Economist soon after the 19th November verdict of the Supreme Court Bench was known.
The Amnesty International very promptly on the 20th November made a statement in which they appealed to the President and the Prime Minister to commute the death sentence passed. On the 24th The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales made similar appeal for commutation of the death sentence of the 12 accused. The European Union also joined the appeal in a statement made on the 23 January. Many other organizations worldwide and personalities like the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also known to have joined the appeal in the matter.

The appeals so made underlined a few pertinent points. One, the verdict in the case did not remain without controversy. Two, somehow miscarriage of justice was done. Three, execution to death by hanging was a judicial murder of the five persons now in custody (the rest six- one already died, would escape the punishment for they are at safe distance and the Bangladesh Government can not bring them back for they are in freer countries having no death penalty there, and so they would not be let out from there).

That the few scapegoats hanged to death in exclusion of many other involved in the matter clearly showed that fair justice for vengeance had not been done, particularly, for the fact that the putsch of August 1975 had no alternative but to get relief from the unenlightened and oppressive BAKSALite dictator and in the process so initiated restoration of multi-party democracy for Bangladesh would not have come to reality so soon and so easily.

It is true that those who dared to bring the popular change but by now executed to death for the act would take pride in the cause for freedom and democracy, even though they embraced judicial murder through clear miscarriage of justice and Political Trial driven by ego and vengeance for decades. A grave threat against pluralism and multi-party democracy now looks on and instead once again most likely re-emergence of deeply hated lone party dictatorial BAKSAL in Bangladesh. The coup leaders already hanged stood very determinedly on the 15th August 1975 not only to do away with the most notorious BAKSAL of 1975 but also against the unconstitutional killer force, the RAKHSI BAHINI, that the country since then got rid off.

Author: BK Din