State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said death-row war crimes convict Muhammad Kamaruzzaman would not get more time to take decision on whether he would seek presidential mercy.
He said: “The Jamaat leader was given adequate time to file the mercy petition. Earlier in the day two magistrates visited the jail in order to talk to him over the issue. But, he is taking too much time.”
The minister made the statement while talking to journalists at a capital programme at 8pm Friday afternoon.
Our Correspondent Mohammad Jamil Khan reported from the spot that the security in front of the Dhaka Central Jail has been beefed up from Friday afternoon.
Jamil reported: “The jail doctor entered inside the jail around 8:30pm. Besides, a vehicle carrying 10 chairs and some other elements entered inside the jail at 8:15pm.”
Contacted, Lalbagh Division officials told the Dhaka Tribune that the move was made upon orders from higher authorities.
Around 9:15pm, Lalbagh DC and Senior Jail Super Farman Ali left the central jail while the security has also been relaxed after 9:30pm, said Jamil.
Kamaruzzaman's family members told a private television station that they were not formally informed about the move.
Earlier in the Day, two magistrates met the death row convict at Dhaka Central Jail.
Seeking anonymity, a high official of Dhaka Central Jail told the Dhaka Tribune: "The magistrates came at the jail around 10:15am and left the jail premises around 11:20am on Friday."
On Thursday, the lawyers of condemned war criminal Kamaruzzaman have entered the Dhaka Central Jail to meet the Jamaat-e-Islami leader.
A five-member team of defence lawyers, led by Shishir Manir entered the jail around 10:55am Thursday, our correspondent Kamrul Hasan reported.
On Wednesday, the jail authorities read out the death sentence before Kamaruzzaman after getting the copy of Monday’s judgement from the International Crimes Tribunal. Then they asked him whether he wanted to seek mercy. Kamaruzzaman sought a day to decide on the matter and wanted to meet his counsels.
In the afternoon, the Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha signed the copy of the judgement that dismissed Kamaruzzaman’s review petition.
Senior Jail Superintendent Forman Ali read out the verdict before the convict in the jail.
The tribunal 2 handed down death penalty to Kamaruzzaman, a key organiser of infamous al-Badr force in greater Mymensingh in 1971, on two charges including the mass killings in Sohagpur village of Sherpur.
After holding hearing on his appeal, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the tribunal’s decision on November 3 last year but commuted his death sentence to life term on one charge.
The full text of the judgement was released on February 18 and the tribunal issued the death warrant for the convict the following day.
Kamaruzzaman appealed against the Appellate Division judgement on March 3. It was rejected after hearings on Monday.
A death row convict is executed between 21 days and 28 days after receiving the Supreme Court order. However, the jail code is not applicable to Kamaruzzaman as he was tried under a special law, the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act of 1973, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told reporters.
Family members of the convict met him at jail on Monday evening.
The al-Badr leader has been in jail since July 29, 2010 when he was arrested in a case of hurting religious sentiment. He was shown arrested in the war crimes case on October 2 the same year.
