Muhammaad Kamaruzzaman

Muhammad Kamaruzzaman (4 July 1952 – 11 April 2015) was a Bangladeshi politician and journalist who served as the senior assistant secretary general of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and was convicted of war crimes during the 1971 independence war of Bangladesh. He was executed by hanging at Dhaka Central Jail at 22:01 on 11 April 2015. On 9 May 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced him to death after it found Kamaruzzaman guilty of crimes against humanity including genocide, murder, rape, looting, arson, and deportation of people during the Bangladesh War of Independence. Kamaruzzaman denied all charges, stating they were politically motivated.

Early life Kamaruzzaman was born on 4 July 1952 at Sajbarkhila village in Sherpur Thana (at the time East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan). His father Moulavi Insan Ali Sarker, was a businessman. Kamaruzzaman obtained a master's degree in journalism in 1976 from Dhaka University. He had five sons. He was married to Nurun Nahar.

He was the chief organizer of the Al-Badr and pro-Pakistan militant groups, formed to assist the Pakistan Army to thwart the Bangladeshi independence movement in 1971 of greater Mymensingh. According to the Daily Sangram on 16 August 1971, Muhammad Kamruzzaman presided over a rally held at the local Muslim Institute in Mymensingh by the Al-Badr to mark the 25th independence day of Pakistan.

Post-independence Kamaruzzaman was a two-time president of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. He became a journalist at the Weekly Sonar Bangla in 1981, later taking the role of editor.

War criminal trial Kamuruzzaman was initially arrested on 13 July 2010 and detained for over a year without being formally informed of charges. In November 2011, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted the opinion that the detention was disproportional and breached human rights conventions. Kamaruzzaman, along with nine other senior members from Jamaat-e-Islami,

Charges Kamaruzzaman was charged with the following war crimes: On 9 May 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal found him guilty on five out of the seven counts, including torture, genocide, killings, rape, looting, arson, and deportation of unarmed civilians during the 1971 Liberation war of Bangladesh and sentenced him to death by hanging on two of the charges. Kamaruzzaman denied the charges saying the trial was politically motivated and appealed the verdict in the Supreme Court.

Kamaruzzaman was executed on 11 April 2015 in Dhaka's Central Jail.

Controversies Although the government and ICT have stated that justice was the priority, opposition parties such as the Jamaat-e-Islami and the BNP accused then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of using the tribunal for persecution. Human Rights Watch called the trial "seriously flawed". In response, an application was submitted on behalf of Kamaruzzaman for a retrial, which was rejected. Following the revelations, Justice Nizamul Huq resigned from the post and Fazle Kabir was appointed there.