Делвар Хоссейн Саееди: Биография и обвинения в военных преступлениях

Bangladeshi Islamist leader, politician and convicted war criminal (1940–2023)

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi (2 February 1940 – 14 August 2023) was a Bangladeshi Islamist leader, politician, public speaker, and convicted war criminal, who served as a Member of Parliament representing the Pirojpur 1 constituency from 1996 to 2006. In 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh found him guilty on eight out of twenty counts, which included murder, rape, and religious persecution. The verdict, which condemned him to death, generated significant domestic and international attention, leading to both support and criticism. The verdict subsequently led to public protests and clashes between his supporters, opponents, and law enforcement agencies, resulting in a series of riots and unrest. In September 2014, the Supreme Court commuted his sentence to life imprisonment. His trial was criticized by several international organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Sayeedi died on 14 August 2023, at the age of 83 due to a cardiac arrest.

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi received his first primary religious education at his local village madrassa, which was built by his father. Sayeedi attended the Sarsina Alia Madrasah in 1962, followed by the Khulna Alia Madrasah. Critics point out that no DNA testing was conducted, and some locals denied that he was involved. Having gained recognition, Delwar Hossain Sayeedi was elected as a member of parliament for constituency Pirojpur 1 in the 1996 and 2001 national elections of Bangladesh.

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." In the lead up to the hearing, Sayeedi's eldest son and mother died, and he suffered a heart attack. This delayed his trial by a month in 2012.

Sayeedi was accused of involvement in numerous crimes, including the killing of over 50 individuals, arson, rape, looting, and coercion of Hindus to convert to Islam.

On 24 July 2009, immigration officials at Zia International Airport prevented Sayeedi from going abroad. He challenged the government's actions by filing a petition with the High Court on 27 July. The appeals court upheld the travel bar 12 August, hours after the High Court declared the government's refusal to allow him to board an overseas flight illegal. The Attorney General stated before the Chamber Judge that 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. On 21 March 2010, Syed Rejaul Haque Chandpuri, secretary general of the Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, filed a case accusing Delwar Hossain Sayeedi and five other Jamaat leaders of hurting religious sentiments. He was subsequently arrested.

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. Human rights group believed it to be a case of forced disappearance. Later, Bali was handed over to India's Border Security Force. "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.

The tribunal found Sayeedi guilty in 8 of the 20 charges, including mass killing, rape, arson, looting and force minority Hindus to convert to Islam during 1971. On 28 February 2013, the tribunal sentenced him to death by hanging for two charges among the eight committed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. As per the verdict, Sayeedi was awarded capital punishment for the offenses as listed in charge numbers 8 and 10. The court refrained from passing any separate sentence of imprisonment for the offences listed in charge numbers 6, 7, 11, 14, 16 and 19 which it said had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. At the same time, the accused was found not guilty to the offenses of crimes against humanity as listed in charge numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20 and was acquitted from the said charges. The defendant's lawyers boycotted the trial and have said that the charges against Sayeedi and others were politically motivated.

Various groups including BNP and Jamaat questioned the legitimacy of the tribunal and conviction. His defence at the trial argued that this was a case of mistaken identity saying that the original perpetrator was a man named Delwar Hossain Shikdar, According to the BBC, it marked "The worst day of political violence in Bangladesh in decades". The Amnesty International released a statement on Sayeedi's trial. They noted that the organization neither endorsed the appeals for capital punishment in the case of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, nor could it affirm that the trials aligned with global benchmarks for impartial legal proceedings. On 2 November 2011, Human Rights Watch released a statement urging the Bangladeshi government to address and investigate instances of intimidation and threats against defense lawyers and witnesses involved in cases at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). Furthermore, Human Rights Watch said the proceedings of the trial fell short of international standards and urged a retrial. The Economist criticised the trial, stating that the presiding judge had resigned and Sayeedi's death sentence was handed down by three men who had not heard all the witnesses.

On 17 September 2014, the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain and comprising a five member bench, delivered a verdict reducing Sayeedi's sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment for war crimes. The judgment reflected varying opinions among the judges.

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. In July 2006 Sayeedi travelled to the UK to address rallies in London and Luton; his entry was cleared by the 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." 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. 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.