Bangladesh executions – justice or political rivalry?
Rights groups say the trial of two opposition leaders did not meet international standards.
Two opposition leaders convicted of war crimes were hanged in Bangladesh on Sunday.
Last-minute appeals for Ali Mujahid and Salauddin Chowdhury were rejected by the president a day earlier.
The men were convicted two years ago by a special tribunal investigating abuses during Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence from Pakistan.
But rights groups say their trial did not meet international standards, and some in the US Congress have called it a flawed means of political retribution.
So, was this score-settling between old political rivals or giving justice to victims of war?
Presenter: Adrian Finighan
Guests:
Abbas Faiz – Senior Researcher on South Asia for Amnesty International
Mofidul Hoque – Liberation War Museum Trustee
John Cammegh – Former lead Defence Lawyer for the Bangladesh War Crime’s Tribunal