Sentence me to death: Latif Siddiqui

Former minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, who has been arrested in a crimes against humanity case, was denied permission to address the International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2).

As he was being escorted from the dock to the tribunal's holding cell after Thursday's hearing, he told reporters, "I wanted to say, sentence me to death."

Latif Siddiqui was produced before the tribunal in connection with a crimes against humanity case over the killings surrounding the Hefazat-e-Islam rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel on 5 May 2013.

A three-member bench of ICT-2, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury, formally showed him arrested in the case and ordered that he be sent to jail.

During the hearing, Latif Siddiqui's lawyer requested that he be allowed to address the court. After the tribunal rejected the request, Latif Siddiqui spoke into the microphone in the dock, saying, "My Lord, I seek your attention."

As he repeated the statement several times, the tribunal responded: "Who is speaking? Who allowed him to speak? That's enough for today."

Latif Siddiqui then said, "Alas! If this is the court, where am I to go?"

Police officers subsequently attempted to remove the microphone from him, leading to a heated exchange between Latif Siddiqui and the police inside the courtroom.

Later, while he was being taken from the tribunal's dock to the holding cell, a journalist asked what he had wanted to tell the court. Latif Siddiqui replied, "I wanted to say, sentence me to death."

'If I am hanged despite being innocent, we will accept it'

Latif Siddiqui's younger brother, Kader Siddiqui, president of the Krishak Sramik Janata League, was present during the hearing and later spoke to journalists outside the tribunal.

Asked about his brother's remark that he wanted to be sentenced to death, Kader Siddiqui said Latif Siddiqui is 87 years old. If he is hanged for a crime he did not commit, we will accept it willingly.

Kader Siddiqui maintained that his brother was completely innocent in the Shapla Chattar incident, calling the case "entirely unjust and politically motivated." He said the family would contest the charges through legal proceedings.

Regarding Latif Siddiqui's attempt to address the tribunal, Kader Siddiqui said, "Every accused person has the right to speak. Last night, Latif Siddiqui was taken to the Detective Branch office, where he experienced courteous treatment. The treatment at the tribunal was the opposite—completely discourteous. A respected person deserves to be treated with respect."