Delwar Hossain Sayeedi

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Delwar Hossain Sayeedi (2 February 1940 – 14 August 2023) was a Bangladeshi Islamist leader,^[1][2] politician, public speaker, and convicted war criminal,^[3] who served as a Member of Parliament representing the Pirojpur-1 constituency from 1996 to 2006.^[4][5]

In 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh found him guilty on eight out of twenty counts, which included murder, rape, and religious persecution. The verdict, which condemned him to death, generated significant domestic and international attention, leading to both support and criticism.^[6][7][8] The verdict subsequently led to public protests and clashes between his supporters, opponents, and law enforcement agencies, resulting in a series of riots and unrest.^[9]

In September 2014, the Supreme Court commuted his sentence to life imprisonment.^[10][11][12] His trial was criticized by several international organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Sayeedi died on 14 August 2023, at the age of 83 due to a cardiac arrest.

Background

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi received his first primary religious education at his local village madrassa, which was built by his father.^[13] Sayeedi attended the Sarsina Alia Madrasah in 1962, followed by the Khulna Alia Madrasah.^[13]

Bangladesh Liberation War

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi was accused of, and later convicted of committing arson, rape and murder during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.^[6][14]

Critics point out that no DNA testing was conducted, and some locals denied that he was involved.^[14] His family claims that he was not in Pirojpur at the time and lived in the New Market area of Jessore.^[15][13] Sayedee and his family, then fled Jessore looking for safety and stayed at the house of a pir for about two weeks from around 1 April 1971. Thereafter the Sayedee family took refuge in another village, Mohiron, under Bagharpara in Jessore at one Roushan Ali’s house.^[15]

Political career

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi joined Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami in 1979. He became a Rukon of Jamaat in 1982 and Shura member of Majlis in 1989. In 1996, he became a member of the executive council of Jamaat. He served as Naib Amir of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami from 2009 till his death.^[16]

Having gained recognition, Delwar Hossain Sayeedi was elected as a member of parliament for constituency Pirojpur-1 in the 1996 and 2001 national elections of Bangladesh.^[17]

Trial

On 22 March 2012, the Bangladesh government established the International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh) to hear cases resulting from investigations of war crimes during the struggle for independence. It was an effort to "provide justice for victims of atrocities in the 1971 war of independence."^[18] In the lead up to the hearing, Sayeedi's eldest son and mother died, and he suffered a heart attack. This delayed his trial by a month in 2012.^[19]

Accusations

Sayeedi was accused of involvement in numerous crimes, including the killing of over 50 individuals, arson, rape, looting, and coercion of Hindus to convert to Islam.^[20]

Arrest

On 24 July 2009, immigration officials at Zia International Airport prevented Sayeedi from going abroad. He challenged the government's actions by filing a petition with the High Court on 27 July. The appeals court upheld the travel bar 12 August, hours after the High Court declared the government's refusal to allow him to board an overseas flight illegal.^[21][22] The Attorney General stated before the Chamber Judge that Sayeedi had opposed the independence of Bangladesh in 1971. He argued that if Sayeedi was not barred from foreign travel, he might work against the government's efforts to bring justice for war crimes during that conflict.^{[citation needed]}

On 21 March 2010, Syed Rejaul Haque Chandpuri, secretary general of the Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, filed a case accusing Delwar Hossain Sayeedi and five other Jamaat leaders of hurting religious sentiments. He was subsequently arrested.^[23]

Charge-sheets

On 12 August 2009, Manik Poshari filed a war crime case in Pirojpur against Delwar Hossain Sayeedi and four others.^[24] His accusations dated to events during the 1971 Bangladeshi war of independence.

Mahbubul Alam Howladar, a former freedom fighter, and now a member and deputy commander of the freedom fighters association called Zianagor upazila Muktijoddha Sangsad, filed charges against Sayeedi with the Pirojpur senior judicial magistrate's court in Zianagar.^[25]

The war crime trials of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi began on 20 November 2011 at the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh. The tribunal charged him with twenty counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and arson, during the liberation war.^[26] Some of the charges are (a) passing secret information on the gathering of people behind the Madhya Masimpur bus-stand to the Pakistan Army, and leading the Army there, where 20 unnamed people were killed by shooting; (b) abducting and killing of government officials (deputy magistrate – Saif Mizanur Rahman, sub-divisional police officer – Foyezur Rahman Ahmed, and sub-divisional officer – Abdur Razzak) of Pirojpur; (c) identifying and looting the houses and shops of people belonging to the Awami League, Hindu community, and supporters of the Liberation War at Parerhat Bazar under Pirojpur Sadar; (d) leading an operation, accompanied by Pakistan Army, to burn 25 houses of the Hindu community at Umedpur village (under the jurisdiction of Indurkani Police Station); (e) leading the group who abducted three women from the house of Gouranga Saha of Parerhat Bandar and handed them over to the Pakistan army for raping.^{[27][28][29][30]}

Sultan Ahmed Howlader, the fourth prosecution witness in the trial, testified that, during the liberation war, Sayeedi and his associate Moshleuddin confined Bipod Shaha's daughter Vanu Shaha at Parerhat, Pirojpur district and regularly raped her.^[27][30] Another witness testified that Sayeedi had organised the Razakar militia, a paramilitary force that aided the Pakistan army at Pirojpur.^[31]

The trial saw 28 witnesses for the prosecution and 16 for the defence. In addition, the tribunal received 16 witness statements given to the investigator after the prosecution argued that those witnesses were either dead, or that producing them before the tribunal would incur unreasonable delay or expenditure.^[32]

Controversies

On 5 November 2012, Sukhranjan Bali, a prosecution witness who instead testified as a defense witness, was abducted outside the International Crimes Tribunal allegedly by the Bangladesh Police.^[33] Human rights group believed it to be a case of forced disappearance. Later, Bali was handed over to India's Border Security Force.^[33][34] "The apparent abduction of a witness in a trial at the ICT is a cause for serious concern about the conduct of the prosecution, judges and government," said a spokesperson for Human Rights Watch.^[34] Bali had been expected to counter prosecution allegations about Sayeedi's involvement in the 1971 murder of Bali's brother.^[35]

Conviction

The tribunal found Sayeedi guilty in 8 of the 20 charges, including mass killing, rape, arson, looting and force minority Hindus to convert to Islam during 1971. On 28 February 2013, the tribunal sentenced him to death by hanging for two charges among the eight committed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.^[7][9][36]

As per the verdict, Sayeedi was awarded capital punishment for the offenses as listed in charge numbers 8 and 10. The court refrained from passing any separate sentence of imprisonment for the offences listed in charge numbers 6, 7, 11, 14, 16 and 19 which it said had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. At the same time, the accused was found not guilty to the offenses of crimes against humanity as listed in charge numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20 and was acquitted from the said charges.^[37][38]

The defendant's lawyers boycotted the trial and have said that the charges against Sayeedi and others were politically motivated.^[36][39]

Reactions

Various groups including BNP and Jamaat questioned the legitimacy of the tribunal and conviction.^[40][41]

His defence at the trial argued that this was a case of mistaken identity saying that the original perpetrator was a man named Delwar Hossain Shikdar,^[14] who had been apprehended and executed by freedom fighters after the war.^[32][15]

By afternoon on the day of the primary verdict, clashes had erupted across Bangladesh between Islamic activists and police forces. An estimated 100 protesters died countrywide in a series of protests and crackdowns subsequently.^{[42][43][44][45]} According to the BBC, it marked "The worst day of political violence in Bangladesh in decades".^[46]

The Amnesty International released a statement on Sayeedi's trial. They noted that the organization neither endorsed the appeals for capital punishment in the case of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, nor could it affirm that the trials aligned with global benchmarks for impartial legal proceedings.^[47] On 2 November 2011, Human Rights Watch released a statement urging the Bangladeshi government to address and investigate instances of intimidation and threats against defense lawyers and witnesses involved in cases at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). Furthermore, Human Rights Watch said the proceedings of the trial fell short of international standards and urged a retrial.^[48]

The Economist criticised the trial, stating that the presiding judge had resigned and Sayeedi's death sentence was handed down by three men who had not heard all the witnesses.^[49]

Appeal hearings

On 17 September 2014, the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain and comprising a five-member bench, delivered a verdict reducing Sayeedi's sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment for war crimes. The judgment reflected varying opinions among the judges.^[50][51]

Controversy

In 2004, the United States of America Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) added Sayeedi to its No Fly List, established to prevent suspected radicals and terrorists from flying into the US.^[52] In July 2006 Sayeedi travelled to the UK to address rallies in London and Luton; his entry was cleared by the foreign office. Many British MPs considered his admission to the country to be controversial. In leaked emails reported by The Times, an adviser, Eric Taylor, said that Sayeedi's "previous visits to the UK have been reportedly marred by violence caused by his supporters."^[53]

On 13 July 2006, the British journalist Martin Bright released a documentary called Who Speaks For Muslims? It included Sayeedi and identified him as having extreme views.^[54] Sayeedi has a large following within the British Bangladeshi community. He was invited to speak at the East London Mosque on 14 July 2006; the then-secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, Muhammad Abdul Bari, supported his invitation.^[53]

Death

On 14 August 2023 at 8:40 PM, Sayeedi, aged 83, died at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University after experiencing a cardiac arrest. Following his death, thousands of mourners and supporters assembled outside the hospital premises in a rally.^[55]

Selected published books

References