Kamaruzzaman, Mir Quasem, and Salauddin Quader sentenced to death in false cases: Mirza Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has claimed that Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Mir Quasem Ali, along with BNP Standing Committee member Salauddin Quader (Saka) Chowdhury, were sentenced to death in “false” cases related to the crimes against humanity in 1971.

Making the statement on Saturday at a programme at the Shilpakala Academy, he highlighted the persecution during the Awami League’s rule.
The event was organised to mark the founding anniversary of the daily newspaper Naya Diganta. Mir Quasem Ali, a member of Jamaat’s Central Executive Council, was one of the founders of this newspaper.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul highlighted the persecution under the Awami League after Bangladesh gained independence and spoke about the suppression of the media in 1975.

Regarding Sheikh Hasina’s rule, he said, “Over 20,000 BNP supporters have been killed. About 1,700 leaders and activists, including former BNP leader Ilias Ali, have been forcibly disappeared. Scholars, religious leaders, and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders—such as Maulana Kamaruzzaman and Mir Quasem Ali, who were publishers of this newspaper (Daily Naya Diganta), along with Salauddin Quader—have been sentenced to death in false cases.”

He added that after the Awami League came to power in 2009, trials for the 1971 crimes against humanity began. In these trials, along with top Jamaat leaders, Assistant Secretary General Kamaruzzaman, central leader Mir Quasem Ali, and a BNP Standing Committee member were sentenced to death. Their sentences were carried out by hanging.