In a dramatic development, the chamber judge of Bangladesh Supreme Court stayed the execution of Quader Mollah till Wednesday following a late evening move of the defence seeking review of the death penalty.
However, one official of the jail authorities said, “We have yet to receive it [the court order] in our hands,” adding that the authorities were waiting to get the order before taking any action.
Chamber Judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order around 10:15 pm as the authorities of Dhaka Central Jail completed almost all preparation to hang Mollah.
Quader Mollah, the first convict of Bangladesh’s historic war crimes trials and assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, was to be executed a minute after midnight. Mollah is also known as “butcher of Mirpur” for his involvement in the genocide, mass rape and torture and abduction of the people supporting the Bangladesh liberation war against Pakistan.
He was sentenced to life by a war crimes tribunal on February 5 for crimes against humanity during the nation’s liberation war in 1971. However, on September 17, the Appellate Division revised the verdict and sentenced him to death by hanging.
Meanwhile, Law enforcers had taken positions in different parts of Dhaka to bolster. Personnel from Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had been deployed in the capital to ensure law and order.
