Qader Mollah executed for war crimes

The conviction was executed after the Supreme Court had dismissed his appeal to review death sentence.

The verdict of the Supreme Court against Mollah was executed at 10.01 tonight in the Dhaka Central Jail, jail sources said.

The verdict has been executed as Quader Mollah, a member of the heinous Al-Badr militia during the liberation war, denied seeking clemency from the President.

Earlier, Hafez Moulana Monir administered 'Towba' to Quader Mollah in presence of Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Sheikh Yusuf Harun and magistrates.

Jail authorities deputed six hangmen, led by Shahjahan Bhuiyan, to execute Quader Mollah.

Before the execution, Quader Mollah was bathed and Dhaka civil surgeon Dr A Malek Mridha, and two other doctors checked his health. The jail compound was lit with floodlights before the hanging.

After taking all preparations in the Dhaka Central Jail, the process of Quader's execution remained suspended for two days as the Chamber Judge issued a stay order responding to an appeal of the Mollah's counsels on Dec 10 night.

Quader was charged with abetting the Pakistani army and actively participating in the atrocities in Bangladesh in 1971, including rape, mass murder and other crimes.

The apex court of the country on September 17 last awarded death penalty to Quader Mollah, 65, an assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami for his crime against humanity in 1971. The court delivered its full judgment on December 5, 2013.

"Death penalty is the only appropriate sentence for Quader Mollah considering the magnitude of his crimes in 1971," four judges of a five-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice said in the judgment modifying the trial tribunal verdict that sentenced him to life in prison.

In the evening, family members of Quader Mollah met him at the Dhaka Central Jail.

Members of Rapid Action Battalion, police and armed police battalion were deployed around Dhaka Central Jail.

Besides, law enforcement and intelligence agencies were kept alert across the country to avert any untoward incident.

Several hundred people started gathering at the jail gate in the evening after the news spread that Quader Mollah's conviction would be executed tonight. People brought out processions in different parts of the capital.