The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has expressed serious concern at the sentencing to death of 152 BDR personnel after mass trials that “fell far short of international human rights standards”.
It has issued a press release in this regard on Wednesday.
In the press release, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, said: “The crimes committed during the mutiny were utterly reprehensible and heinous, and my sympathies are with the grieving families, but justice will not be achieved by conducting mass trials of hundreds of individuals, torturing suspects in custody and sentencing them to death after trials that failed to meet the most fundamental standards of due process.”
In her statement, she stated: “The perpetrators of the crimes must be held accountable in compliance with the laws of Bangladesh and the country’s international obligations, including those pertaining to fair trial standards, as laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Bangladesh ratified in 2000. The trial of these 847 suspects has been rife with procedural irregularities, including the lack of adequate and timely access to lawyers.”
The High Commissioner called for an independent and thorough investigation into the allegations of human rights abuses, particularly custodial torture and deaths that took place after the mutiny. “The results of the investigation should be made public and those responsible must be held accountable,” she said, noting that, having ratified the UN Convention against Torture, Bangladesh is obliged to take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.
“The conviction and sentencing of each of the suspects must be reviewed individually, and any evidence obtained under torture must not be admitted in court,” Pillay said.
The High Commissioner also expressed concern about the conduct of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) to try the accused war criminal, who committed crimes against humanity during the country’s 1971 independence war.
“The ICT should be a very important means to tackle impunity for the mass atrocities committed in 1971, and to provide redress to the victims who have had a long and difficult road to justice,” Pillay said. “But it is important that the proceedings meet the highest standards if they are to reinforce the rule of law in Bangladesh and the fight against impunity in the broader region.”
The High Commissioner urged the government of Bangladesh not to proceed with the death penalty in cases before the Tribunal, particularly given concerns about the fairness of the trials.
The United Nations opposes the imposition of the death penalty under any circumstance, even for the most serious international crimes. The International Criminal Court – of which Bangladesh is a state member – and other international criminal tribunals all exclude the death penalty for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.