Washington says it supports bringing to justice those who committed atrocities in the 1971 Bangladesh war of independence.

But in doing so the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) trials must be “fair and transparent”.



The trial must be in accordance with “international obligations” that Bangladesh has agreed to uphold through its ratification of international agreements, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The statement, however, did not point out any faults of the trial process.

“We greatly respect the decisions of the International Crimes Tribunal and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in Chief Prosecutor vs. Mohammed Kamaruzzaman, and note in particular the judicial rigor applied to this ruling.

“We believe that broad and enduring support for this process both nationally and internationally can be best achieved by exercising great care and caution before imposing and implementing a sentence of death.

“We have seen progress, but still believe that further improvements to the ICT process could ensure these proceedings meet domestic and international obligations.

“Until these obligations can be consistently met, it is best not to proceed with executions given the irreversibility of a sentence of death,” read the statement.

The statement was issued around 9.30pm Bangladesh time on Saturday. Kamaruzzaman was hanged at 10.01pm at Dhaka Central Jail.

The ICT on May 9 in 2013 sentenced the Al-Badr commander from Mymensingh to death for atrocities committed during the 1971 Liberation War.

A year later, the Appellate Division upheld the sentence, describing his crimes as having been “worse than the Nazis”.

He was handed death for killing of 120 men and raping of women from village Sohaghpur at Sherpur’s Nalitabarhi on July 25, 1971.

Unlike the European, the US could not abolish death sentence from all its states.