Delwar Hossain Sayeedi: Difference between revisions

{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}

| name                = Delwar Hossain Sayeedi

| native_name        = দেলাওয়ার হোসাইন সাঈদী

| image              =

| constituency        = [[Pirojpur-1]]

| term_start          = 12 June 1996

| predecessor        = [[Sudhangshu Shekhar Haldar]]

| birth_place        = [[Pirojpur District|Firozpur]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]] (present-day [[Bangladesh]])

| nationality        = [[Bangladesh]]i

| occupation          = {{hlist|[[Politics]]|[[Dawah]]}}

'''Delwar Hossain Sayeedi''' ({{lang-bn|দেলাওয়ার হোসাইন সাঈদী}}) is an Islamic politician in Bangladesh who has served as a Member of the [[Jatiyo Sangshad|it's parliament]] from 1996 to 2008. The [[International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh)|International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh]] sentenced him to death in February 2013 for [[crimes against humanity]] in the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|war of 1971]].<ref name="edition.cnn.com">{{cite news |last1=Yuan |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Ahmed |first2=Saeed |last3=Ahmed |first3=Farid |date=27 February 2013 |title=Seeking war crimes justice, Bangladesh protesters fight 'anti-Islam' label |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/27/world/asia/bangladesh-protests/?hpt=wo_c2 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref name="REUTERS, 28 February 2013">{{cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Anis |date=28 February 2013 |title=Bangladesh Islamist's death sentence sparks deadly riots |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-tribunal-idUSBRE91R0AN20130228 |newspaper=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Tanim |first=Ahmed |date=28 February 2013 |title=Sayedee to hang |url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/02/28/sayedee-to-hang |newspaper=bdnews24 |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=28 February 2013 |title=Bangladesh Jamaat leader sentenced to death |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/02/201322865638456746.html |newspaper=Al Jazeera |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="BBC-21611769">{{cite news |date=28 February 2013 |title=Bangladesh war crimes trial: Delwar Hossain Sayeedi to die |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21611769 |work=BBC News}}</ref> His crimes included genocide, mass murder, rape of Hindus and arson of their properties. The tribunal received support within [[Bangladesh]],<ref>{{cite news |date=8 February 2013 |title=Huge Bangladesh rally seeks death penalty for war crimes |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-21383632 |work=BBC News |access-date=5 November 2014}}</ref> but was criticized by many international observers.<ref name="archive.thedailystar.net">{{cite news |date=28 May 2009 |title=EU supports war crime trial, wants fairness |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=90186 |newspaper=The Daily Star |agency=UNB}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ullah |first=Ansar Ahmed |date=3 February 2012 |title=Vote of trust for war trial |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=221052 |newspaper=The Daily Star}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/01/bangladesh-government-backtracks-rights |title=Bangladesh: Government Backtracks on Rights |date=1 February 2013 |website=Human Rights Watch |access-date=1 February 2013 }}</ref> In September 2014 the [[Supreme Court of Bangladesh|Supreme Court]] commuted his sentence to [[life imprisonment]].<ref>{{cite news |date=17 September 2014 |title=Bangladesh Court commits Islamist leader's death sentence to life imprisonment |url=http://itvradionigeria.com/news/bangladesh-court-commits-islamist-leaders-death-sentence-life-imprisonment/ |work=ITV Radio Nigeria}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=17 September 2014 |title=Bangladesh Islamist Delwar Sayeedi death sentence commuted |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-29233639 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=27 February 2013|title=Sayedee verdict Thursday |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=45073 |newspaper=The Daily Star |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301233441/http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=45073 |archive-date=1 March 2013 |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref>

Sayeedi was born into a [[Bengali Muslim]] family in a village located in [[Indurkani Upazila|Indurkani]], [[Pirojpur District|Firozpur]], [[Bengal Presidency]]. His father Yusuf Sayedee was an Islamic orator. Allama Sayeedi received his first primary religious education at his local village ''[[madrassa]],'' which was built by his father.<ref name=BBC-Bangla>{{cite news |date=8 February 2013 |script-title=bn:সাইদখালির শিকদার যেভাবে হলেন সাঈদী |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bengali/news/2013/02/130228_sr_saidee_profile.shtml |work=BBC Bangla |language=bn}}</ref> Sayeedi attended the Sarsina Alia Madrasah in 1962, followed by the Khulna Alia Madrasah.<ref name="BBC-Bangla" /> Sayeedi started a business in a local village market after completing his religious studies.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}

Longstanding tensions between the eastern province of Bangladesh and the majority government based in western Pakistan gave rise in 1971 to the Bangladesh Liberation War. The ruling Pakistani elite, consisting of Punjabis and Pathans, thought that the Bengalis were inferior. The straw that broke the camel's back was the imposition of Urdu as the state language of Pakistan, a move that angered the already upset Bengali people. On 25 March 1971 Pakistan military started armed operation on unarmed Bengali people and killed hundreds of them in that night and the atrocities have been referred to as acts of [[genocide#International law|genocide]].<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Rummel | first1 = Rudolph | author-link1 = Rudolph Rummel | title = Statistics of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder since 1900 | chapter = Chapter 8: Statistics of Pakistan's Democide Estimates, Calculations, And Sources |url=https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP8.HTM | page = 544 | access-date = 10 November 2011 | isbn = 978-3-8258-4010-5 | quote = "...They also planned to indiscriminately murder hundreds of thousands of its Hindus and drive the rest into India. ... This despicable and cutthroat plan was outright genocide'.}}</ref> The Pakistani Army along with Bihari Muslim migrants from India (Razakars who were hand in glove with Sayeedi and others like him) unleashed war crimes on the Bengali population. Post-independence, many such Bihari's now live in exile in Bangladesh while continuously seeking repatriation with (West) Pakistan.<ref>{{Citation|last=AP Archive|title=The plight of Pakistani refugees in Bangladesh|date=21 July 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb2ha21oaFI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/pb2ha21oaFI |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|access-date=3 February 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

His defence at the ICT trials, however, have alleged that this was a case of mistaken identity saying that Delwar Hossain Shikdar had been apprehended and executed by freedom fighters after the war.<ref name="bdnews Sayedee to hang" /> Before this, in the case of war criminal [[Abdul Quader Molla]], who is also a leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the same defence alleged that Quader Molla and 'Koshai' Quader or 'Butcher' Quader were not the same person.<ref name="QM-1">{{cite news |title=Quader Molla was "innocent": Imran Khan |url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/12/17/quader-molla-was-innocent-imran-khan |newspaper=[[bdnews24.com]] |date=17 December 2013 |access-date=17 April 2014}}</ref> In both cases as shown here, the defence for lack of better evidence tried to work with the only recourse available to it; alternate names or aliases were the core arguments for the defence.

==Entry into politics==

Having gained recognition, he was elected as a member of parliament for constituency [[Pirojpur-1]] in the [[1996 Bangladeshi general election|1996]] and [[2001 Bangladeshi general election|2001 national elections of Bangladesh]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://votemonitor.net/bangladesh/EADetails_1991_1996_2001.php?EA=129 |title=Parliament Election Result of 1991,1996,2001 Bangladesh Election Information and Statistics |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=Vote Monitor Networks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229000009/http://votemonitor.net/bangladesh/EADetails_1991_1996_2001.php?EA=129 |archive-date=29 December 2008 |access-date=12 August 2014}}</ref>

 

 

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.<ref>{{cite news |date=16 March 2004 |title=Bangladesh lawmaker in US 'no fly list' |url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/040316/139/2c11t.html |work=Yahoo News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050103183623/http://in.news.yahoo.com/040316/139/2c11t.html |archive-date=3 January 2005 }}</ref>

In July 2006 Sayeedi travelled to the UK to address rallies in London and [[Luton]]; his entry was cleared by the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|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."<ref name="TIMESONLINE">{{cite news |last1=Ford |first1=Richard |last2=Woolcock |first2=Nicola |last3=O'Neill |first3=Sean |date=14 July 2006 |title=Islamist hardliner heads for Britain |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article687513.ece |newspaper=The Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227210035/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article687513.ece |archive-date=27 February 2007 |access-date=22 August 2010}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bright|first=Martin|title=Delwar Hossein Sayeedi|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/delwar-hossein-sayeedi|newspaper=New Statesman|date=13 July 2006}}</ref> 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.<ref name=TIMESONLINE />

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."<ref name="alert">{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/11/02/bangladesh-stop-harassment-defense-war-tribunal |title=Bangladesh: Stop Harassment of Defense at War Tribunal |website=Human Rights Watch |date=2 November 2011 |access-date=6 March 2013}}</ref> There had been longstanding accounts of abuses during the war, including forced [[Religious conversion|conversion]] of Hindus to Islam, sectarian attacks on minority Hindu communities, raping of women, and attacks on unarmed civilians, among the excesses.

On 24 July 2009, immigration officials at [[Zia International Airport]] prevented Sayeedi from going abroad.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}} He challenged the Government's restriction by filing a writ petition with the High Court on 27 July. The Attorney General stated before the Chamber Judge that ''Mawlana'' 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.

[[Human Rights Watch]] in November 2011 criticised the conduct of the ICT, suggesting that it has not provided enough protection for the defense of the accused. It has said that "lawyers representing the accused before the ICT have reported being harassed by state officials and threatened with arrests." {{Citation needed|date=May 2015}} Several witnesses and an investigator working for the defense have also reported harassment by police and threats for cooperating with the defense."<ref name="alert"/>

(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.<ref name=dailyStar-charges_Sayeedi>{{cite news |date=4 October 2011 |title=Charges brought against Sayedee |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=205109 |newspaper=The Daily Star |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref><ref name=bdnews24-charges_sayeedi>{{cite news |date=27 February 2013 |title=Charges against Sayedee |url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/02/27/charges-against-sayedee |newspaper=bdnews24 |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=8 December 2011 |title=Sayedee looted houses in 1971, converted Hindus: Witness |url=http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/archive_details.php?date=2011-12-08&nid=42800 |newspaper=The New Age|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411131918/http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/archive_details.php?date=2011-12-08&nid=42800 |archive-date=11 April 2013 |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref><ref name=bss-witness>{{cite news |date=21 December 2011 |title=Sayeedi regularly raped a Hindu girl: Witness |url=http://www.bssnews.net/newsDetails.php?cat=0&id=215868&date=2011-12-21 |work=Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref>

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.<ref name=dailyStar-charges_Sayeedi /><ref name=bss-witness /> Another witness testified that Sayeedi had organised the [[Razakars (Pakistan)|Razakar]] militia, a paramilitary force that aided the Pakistan army at Pirojpur.<ref name=BSS>{{Cite news |date=3 October 2011 |title=Sayeedi formed Razakar Bahini at Pirojpur: Witness |url=http://www.bssnews.net/newsDetails.php?cat=0&id=218401&date=2012-01-03 |work=Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha}}</ref>

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.<ref name="bdnews Sayedee to hang">{{cite news |last1=Ahmed |first1=Tanim |last2=Nilo |first2=Suliman |date=28 February 2013 |title=Sayedee to hang |url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/02/28/sayedee-to-hang |newspaper=bdnews24.com |access-date=13 April 2013}}</ref>

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]].<ref name=nabali>{{cite news |last=Bergman |first=David |author-link=David Bergman (journalist) |date=16 May 2013 |title=Witness alleges state abduction |newspaper=The New Age|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607201609/http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2013-05-16&nid=49319#.ViBVtCvAE-U |archive-date=7 June 2013 |access-date=16 May 2013 |url=http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2013-05-16&nid=49319#.UZQnMEpx3Ke}}</ref> Human rights group believed it to be a case of [[forced disappearance]]. Later, Bali was handed over to India's [[Border Security Force]].<ref name=nabali /><ref name=BDINN>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/16/india-protect-bangladesh-war-crimes-trial-witness |title=India: Protect Bangladesh War Crimes Trial Witness |date=16 May 2013 |website=Human Rights Watch |access-date=16 May 2013}}</ref> "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.<ref name=BDINN /> Bali had been expected to counter prosecution allegations about Sayeedi's involvement in the 1971 murder of Bali's brother.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/odhikar_ahrr_2013.pdf |title=Human Rights Report 2013 |date=14 April 2014 |publisher=Odhikar |page=69 |access-date=22 February 2017 |via=International Federation for Human Rights}}</ref>

''The Economist'' criticised the trial, stating that the presiding judge had [[2012 ICT Skype controversy|resigned]] and Sayeedi's death sentence was handed down by three men who had not heard all the witnesses.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Justice in Bangladesh: Another kind of crime |url=https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21573990-bangladeshs-war-crimes-tribunal-sullying-its-judicial-and-political-systems-another-kind |magazine=[[The Economist]] |date=20 March 2013 |access-date=18 April 2013}}</ref>

Sayeedi said the verdict was not neutral.<ref>{{cite news |date=28 February 2013 |script-title=bn:আপনারা বিচার করতে পারেননি: সাঈদী |trans-title=You can not judge: Sayeedi |url=http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2013-02-28/news/332795 |newspaper=Prothom Alo |language=bn |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302215023/http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2013-02-28/news/332795 |archive-date=2 March 2013 }}</ref> The lack of evidence provided in the trial as well as the potential for political motivations for Sayeedi's arrest and conviction has led to rights groups like Amnesty International to question the legitimacy of the tribunal and conviction.<ref name="Amnesty International">{{cite report |last=International |first=Amnesty |date=2011 |title=Amnesty International Report 2011: The State of the World's Human Rights |url= http://files.amnesty.org/air11/air_2011_full_en.pdf |access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref>

By afternoon on the day of the protest, clashes had erupted across Bangladesh between Islamic activists and police forces. An estimated 100 protesters died countrywide.<ref>{{cite news |author=Julfikar Ali Manik |author2=Jim Yardley |date=1 March 2013 |title=Death Toll From Bangladesh Unrest Reaches 44 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/02/world/asia/death-toll-from-bangladesh-unrest-hits-42.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=1 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Arun Devnath |author2=Andrew MacAskill |date=1 March 2013 |title=Clashes Kill 35 in Bangladesh After Islamist Sentenced to Hang |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-28/bangladesh-sentences-islamist-leader-to-death-amid-dhaka-protest.html |newspaper=Bloomberg |access-date=1 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Naim-Ul-Karim |date=2 March 2013 |title=4 dead, hundreds injured as riots continue in Bangladesh |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-03/02/c_124408068.htm |newspaper=Xinhuanet |agency=Xinhua |access-date=2 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=3 March 2013 |title=Bangladesh deaths rise as Jamaat protest strike begins |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21646233 |work=BBC News |access-date=3 March 2013}}</ref>

According to the [[BBC]], it marked "The worst day of political violence in Bangladesh in decades".<ref>{{cite news |date=1 March 2013 |title=Bangladesh war crimes verdict sparks more violence |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21626843 |work=BBC News |access-date=1 March 2013}}</ref>

On 17 September 2014, the [[Law of Bangladesh#Appellate Division|Appellate Division]] of the [[Bangladesh Supreme Court]] reduced the sentence of Sayedi from the death penalty to 'imprisonment till death' for war crimes against Bengali people in Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.<ref>{{cite news |author=Haroon Habib |date=17 September 2014 |title=Top Jamaat leader Sayedee to be in prison until death |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/bangladesh-supreme-court-commutes-death-sentence-of-jamaat-leader-delwar-sayedee/article6418811.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |access-date=19 September 2014}}</ref>

[[Category:6th Jatiya Sangsad members]]

[[Category:8th Jatiya Sangsad members]]

[[Category:Bangladeshi male criminals]]