Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying

The Bangladesh desk of Amnesty International responded to an enquiry from Drishtipat, a Bangladeshi Human Rights organization, regarding their position on the deportation of convicted terrorist Mohiuddin AKM Ahmed to Bangladesh.

In response to the query from Drishtipat, Amnesty wrote:

Amnesty will not oppose the investigation of those accused of human rights violations, and the trial and conviction of those who have been found to be involved in human rights violations. However, such investigtions and trials should be informed by three main standards: that torture is not used to extract information; that trials are in accordance with international fair trial standards, and that the death penalty is not imposed as punishment.

In the case of Mr Mohiuddin Ahmed, his conviction to death is a very problematic issue and, on that ground, Amnesty will not be able to support his extradition. [Emphasis added by Drishtipat]

Drishtipat asked for further clarification on the question of torture and fair trial. Drishtipat was kind enough to forward their question and the response they received from the Bangladesh desk of Amnesty International to me via email.

Drishtipat wrote:

Just for clarification, do you believe that fair trial was used and torture was not used as a method to extract information — the first two standards you mentioned.

Amnesty’s Bangladesh desk responded with the following clarification:

We had raised our concern regarding allegations of torture made by Zubaida Rashid, as is reflected in the document I sent to you. We had not received serious allegations of torture from others, or serious allegation of use of unfair trail procedures. If such allegations are made, we will investigate them. Our main concern with regard to these cases is the death penalty, which Amnesty opposes at all times. [Emphasis added by me.]

The one allegation of torture came from Zubaida Rashid, the wife of Lt Col (relieved) Khandaker Abdur Rashid (one of the main coup leaders). The allegations were however never substantiated, but were of concern to Amnesty and other human rights organizations. According to the report from 1997 referred to above in the response from Amnesty:

One of the defendants, Zobaida Rashid, has alleged that she has been subjected to torture in police custody. Amnesty International urges the Government of Bangladesh to institute an independent and impartial investigation to establish the truth about these allegations. Should the allegations be substantiated, the government must ensure that those found responsible are brought to justice without delay.

…

Zobaida Rashid, wife of Lt Col (relieved) Khandaker Abdul Rashid was arrested from her home in Dhaka on charges of possessing her husband’s firearm and involvement in the killing of Sheikh Mujibur and his family members. Her lawyer argued that the weapons recovered had legally-obtained licenses, that she had not been involved in the assassination at all, and that she was being "held as a hostage by the government for securing the surrender of her husband" who is believed to have gone abroad.

…

In February 1997, Zobaida Rashid told the court that she had been forced by the police to sign a "confessional" statement under duress and withdrew that statement. She alleged that during her 9-day period in police custody in November 1996 she had been given electric shocks, was made to lie on a cold bare floor, and was denied sleep for prolonged periods. She was allegedly denied any medical treatment during this period. Zobaida Rashid was eventually released on bail on 3 April 1997 on order of the High Court. Her lawyer had argued that she needed treatment for her medical conditions in an "open atmosphere".

…

On 8 April 1997, police sources announced that the court dealing with the case had framed the charges against the accused. These were: conspiracy to kill former president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with his family and relatives, execution of the plan and attempts to conceal and destroy evidence. Five of the six prisoners appeared in court that day and pleaded not guilty. Zobaida Rashid - already released on bail - did not appear; her lawyer told the court that she was ill. Following several days of pre-trial hearings, the court set 21 April 1997 as the trial date after indicting the 20 alleged coup plotters. The judge told the defendants: "We are here to ensure justice of a murder case under the laws of the land and the accused will get maximum protection and facilities as far as the law allows." Each of the 14 defendants to be tried in absentia were believed to have been appointed a lawyer by the courts to ensure they were defended at the trial.

On the first day of the trial on 21 April, the trial was suspended after a "no confidence" application against the judge was moved by Zobaida Rashid’s defence lawyer. The High Court rejected the motion, saying it was not moved properly. Defence sources said they intended to move the application again.

…

On 4 May, Bangladesh’s High Court suspended all trial proceedings for one month pending the outcome of an appeal challenging the framing of charges against Zobaida Rashid.

On July 6, 1997 the High Court ruled that all charges against Zobaida Rashid should be dropped and the trial against the others continued after charges were dropped against her.

After the conviction and sentencing of Mohiuddin and his co-conspirators Amnesty released a public statement reiterating its stance against the death penalty, but also stating that Amnesty "believes that a continued determination to bring to justice perpetrators of human rights violations will not only enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in the country but also eliminate the need to deal with these at a later date."

Mohiuddin’s supporters, including Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, have asserted that he did not receive a fair trial, and they have cited Amnesty International as supporting their assertion. All evidence is to the contrary. All defendants had recourse to the law and recourse to appeal to a higher court. The multiple motions and appeals during the trial by the defense, all of which received a hearing, are testament to the fairness of the trial and of the due process afforded the defendants. That Bangladesh was able to hold a fair trial in such a politically and emotionally charged trial is to its credit. Today, even the United States, which is known for the protections afforded by its legal system, has failed to offer due process to detainees it considers terrorists, holding many without trial and without due process for over five years.

Mohiuddin’s tactics to fight deportation have been used by the other absconding murderers convicted with Mohiuddin. As an example, read the case of Nur Chowdhury, another convicted terrorist and Mohiuddin’s co-conspirator, who was judged to be inadmissible by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board. Chowdhury however remains in Canada and will not be deported to Bangladesh because Canadian law forbids the deportation of criminals to their home countries if they are facing a death sentence. Mohiuddin is hoping for a similar fate - but the United States has no such restriction.

[Click here for a timeline of the long trial of Mohiuddin and his cohorts.]

[This post is part of a series of posts on the case of Mohiuddin AKM Ahmed that I have written and plan to write until Mohiuddin is deported to Bangladesh as has been ordered by the US courts. It remains to be seen if political intervention by Dana Rohrabacher and others on behalf of this convicted terrorists will succeed in subverting a lawful order by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. I intend to write about this case to continue to raise awareness and to counter the spin coming from Mohiuddin and his supporters. You can read all related posts on this case here.]

It’s almost time!

Blogathon 2006 starts Saturday morning at 9 a.m. (EST). We (Bloggers Against Torture) have raised $970 so far for Amnesty International USA thanks to generous contributions from our readers. We are just short of the $1000 mark and are still hoping someone will put us over the top. You can continue to pledge all throughout the day until 9 a.m. Sunday. As of this writing, there are 369 bloggers participating in Blogathon 2006 with $72,188 in total pledges from sponsors.

Please stop by the Bloggers Against Torture web site tomorrow to read our posts on torture throughout the day.

For more information on our participation in Blogathon 2006, click here.

Click the image to sponsor me and Bloggers Against Torture:

[Hat tip to Beagle for bringing this to my attention in a comment.]

The Pakistan High Commission in London confirmed, on the day a protest was scheduled at its doorstep, that Mirza Tahir Hussain’s execution has been stayed again for another month. He is now scheduled to be executed on September 3.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf should, instead of torturing Mr. Hussain and his family with one-month stays of execution, do the right thing and pardon this man.

According to The Guardian:

The Pakistani high commission in London today confirmed reports that a British man being held on death row in Pakistan has been granted a stay of execution.

Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, has spent half his life in jail awaiting execution after being convicted of the murder of a taxi driver in 1988 - a crime he has always maintained he did not commit.

Despite the Pakistani high court clearing his name in 1996 an Islamic court took over his case and reaffirmed the death sentence.

 

This morning, as 150 demonstrators gathered at the Pakistani high commission in London, Mahmood Ahmed, an official at the Adiala jail in Islamabad said he had received an order from the Pakistan president, General Pervez Musharraf, on Wednesday to postpone Mr Hussain’s execution until September 1.

 

Mr Hussain’s brother condemned President Musharraf for "playing a game of cat and mouse" with his brother’s life.

"We did not ask for a further stay of execution," Mr Hussain said. "We asked for President Musharraf to pardon my brother, or commute his sentence."

He said that the stay of execution was "prolonging the agony" of the family.

Sarah Green from Amnesty International said that the campaign group was deeply suspicious of the timing of the announcement.

"It’s worrying that the family were not told first, and that the news was given directly to journalists," she said.

"It reflects the way this case has happened and we suspect the information on the reprieve was given out in the hope that the protestors will go away."

Officials at the Pakistani high commission had earlier refused to confirm that Mr Hussain had been granted another month to live.

Click here to read the article in its entirety. Click here for background on his case.

As you probably know I am a member of Bloggers Against Torture, a growing alliance of bloggers dedicated to speaking out against torture practiced by the United States of America as well as all practice of torture worldwide. On July 29, 2006 we will take part in Blogathon 2006. We will post articles about torture, every 30 minutes, for 24 hours on July 29th to raise money for charity as well as raise awareness about torture. We will be blogging to raise money for Amnesty International USA.

We will post all our articles on the Bloggers Against Torture website during the Blogathon 2006. I am excited to be part of this event and I will crosspost my article on this site as well. Please join and support us as we begin to leverage the power of the blogs to help end this inhumane practice.

If you would like to sponsor our effort and pledge a donation to Amnesty International USA, click here or click on the link on the sidebar. We will display a list of sponsors on the Bloggers Against Torture website sidebar. All donations by you will be made directly to Amnesty International USA. Neither Bloggers Against Torture nor Blogathon 2006 will collect any funds. You can find more information about our effort on the Bloggers Against Torture website.

Click here to book our low low fares to the world’s most exotic torture destinations!

[Click here if you have complaints about our service. Click here if you would like a refund.]

Take your seat at the World Cup and join the fight against the International Arms Trade at the same time. What better way to combine a passion for sports and a commitment to Human Rights than to join Amnesty International’s Control Arms campaign and take a seat at the Million Faces Stadium ahead of the World Cup and the United Nations Conference on Small Arms.

It’s fun and perhaps like me you will get a front row seat at the stadium next to two lovely ladies from Australia and Peru! I am seriously thinking about moving to Peru after the game!

Click here to pick your seat at Amnesty International’s Million Faces Stadium before the best seats are gone. It only takes a minute and is a lot of fun.

[A major Hat Tip to Robbie at Greetings From America’s Finest City]

On June 1st of this year the life of a man who has spent half his life in prison will be extinguished in Pakistan. Mirza Tahir Hussain, a 36-year Pakistani-British dual citizen, will be hanged for the crime of murder. He will be hanged after an Islamic court in Pakistan found him guilty of murdering a taxi driver in 1988. He will be hanged after he was acquitted of all charges by the Pakistani High Court.

How can a man acquitted of murder by Pakistan’s High Court be hanged for murder by Pakistan’s Islamic court? Good question. The answer lies in Pakistan’s dueling judicial systems - one secular and one Islamic. If you are found innocent in one system, you can be tried in another. You get two for the price of one - Double Jeapardy knows no better home.

Amnesty International describes the facts of the case as follows:

Mirza Tahir Hussain was tried and convicted of murdering a taxi driver while travelling to the village of Bhubar from Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, on 17 December 1988. The taxi driver reportedly stopped the car and produced a gun, and Mirza Tahir Hussain, who was 18 years old at the time, was reportedly physically and sexually assaulted by the taxi driver. In the scuffle that followed, the gun went off, and the taxi driver was fatally injured.

Mirza Tahir Hussain was sentenced to death in 1989 at the Sessions Court in Islamabad. Following an appeal, this sentence was dismissed by the Lahore High Court, which noted discrepancies in the case. The case was returned to the Sessions Court where Mirza Tahir Hussain was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1994. Following a second appeal, the Lahore High Court then dismissed this sentence in 1996, and Mirza Tahir Hussain was acquitted of all charges against him.

A week later, Mirza Tahir Hussain’s case was referred to the Federal Shariat Court on charges from the original case, including robbery involving murder, which fall under Islamic offences against property law. The Federal Shariat Court’s duties include reviewing laws to ensure they conform with Islamic doctrine and dealing with appeals of cases tried under Islamic Law. The entire case against Mirza Tahir Hussain was reopened, and in 1998, he was sentenced to death by the Federal Shariat Court, despite their acknowledgment that no robbery had taken place due to the taxi being hired. The death penalty sentence by the Federal Shariat Court was based on a split two to one judgement, with the dissenting judge strongly recommending that Mirza Tahir Hussain be acquitted. Amnesty International believes that Mirza Tahir Hussain has not received a fair trial due to the contradictory statements of the different courts. Also, the Islamic provision under which he was tried requires that the death penalty should only be imposed if reliable eyewitness accounts or a confession to the court are submitted. In this case, neither was obtained.

The Washington Post also quotes the strong dissent by one of the judges in the Islamic court:

In August 1998, in a split 2-1 verdict, the Islamic court’s judges sentenced him to death again, although the legal provision he was tried under required a confession or witness to the crime. The prosecution had neither.

The dissenting judge, Abdul Waheed Siddiqui, gave a scathing assessment of the prosecution in a 59-page judgment. He described Hussain as "an innocent, raw youth not knowing the mischief and filth in which the police of this country is engrossed." He said police introduced false witnesses and "fabricated evidence in a shameless manner" against Hussein, who had no criminal record.

Mr. Hussain’s real crime was voluntarily surrendering to the police in the hopes of getting justice. The corrupt police in Pakistan and other developing countries make a mockery of the rule of law and terrorize their citizens. They are the real enemies in the War on Terror.

Mr. Hussain’s brother describes Tahir Hussain’s despair:

"Sometimes he just feels like getting this over and done with. He once told me don’t bother to try and help, because whatever God ordains is going to happen," Amjad Hussain said. "That scares me."

We cannot allow this miscarriage of justice to be carried out without raising our voices. We must demand clemency or a fair trial for this soul. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has the ability to intervene and has so far refused to do so. The United States, Pervez Musharraf’s real masters, has considerable sway over his actions. As in the case of Mukhtar Mai the light of the world’s attention can shame this act of cowardice from being carried out. Please take the time to contact your senators and congressmen to put pressure on the Government of Pakistan to stop this execution. Please contact the White House and the State Department and let them know that the United States has a duty to speak up in defense of Human Rights. Please contact the Pakistani Embassy in your country and tell them the world is watching. Please send a note to Pervez Musharraf and tell him the world will not forget.

I also ask Muslims in Pakistan and around the world to protest this imminent hanging. This miscarriage of justice is ostensibly being carried out in our name. This man’s death will shame us all. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful I ask all Muslims to show the quality of mercy in Islam and save this man’s life.

Time is short. Please act now.

Please contact the following:

• Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf via the President’s website.
• Email the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Jehangir Karamat, at ambassador@pakistan-embassy.org.
• Email the White House at comments@whitehouse.gov.
• Contact your senators and congressmen.
• Contact Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice through the State Department website.