Death penalty in Bangladesh: Demand for abolition or less imposition

There are more effective ways to prevent crime than imposing punishments like death penalty. I believe in the perspectives of restorative justice in which, crime should be viewed as injury rather than wrong-doing, and justice as healing rather than punishment

Under the Criminal Justice System of Bangladesh, death penalty is exercised as capital punishment for the offender of crucial crimes, such as murder, sedition, offences related to possession of or trafficking in drugs, offences related to trafficking in human beings, treason, espionage, military crimes, rape, hijacking planes, sabotage, terrorism etc.
Right based operation of a Criminal Justice System is rested upon characters, errands and answerability of several factors and institutions, among which, criminal law and procedure is an imperative one.
Bangladesh was ranked as the third top country for imposing death sentences in the year 2015 as per the report of Amnesty International.  As stated in ‘Death Sentences and Executions Report 2015, the imposition of such sentences has risen to a distressing level. Bangladesh courts have sentenced at least 198 people to death in the year 2015. At least 1,235 people were under sentence of death at the end of 2014. Amnesty International reports that in 2014 alone, around 175 people were sentenced to death. This represents a decrease compared to 2013, when at least 220 people were sentenced to death.
Article 31 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (Constitution) provides that no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law. Article 32 of the Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty save in accordance with law.
Just one year back, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh has ruled that the mandatory death penalty under any law is unconstitutional. The court found that the constitutional provisions are violated by the mandatory application of capital punishment, reasoning that the prohibition on being deprived of life “except in accordance with the law” introduced a concept “akin to due process.”
Moreover, death penalty is considered as a refutation of the most fundamental human rights as it infringes one of the most elementary principles of human rights law that states must recognize the right to life.
The UN General Assembly stressed upon putting an end to the death penalty and human rights organizations concurred that its execution contravenes fundamental human rights norms as the death penalty symbolizes brutal, ruthless, or degrading treatment.
Article 25 of the Constitution requires Bangladesh to base its international relations on the principles of respect for international law and the principles enunciated in the United Nations Charter. Article 47 of the Constitution recognizes humanitarian law and provides that the Constitution will not limit the application of international treaties and the law of war. Therefore, these provisions imply some recognition of international human rights although have not expressly recognized the same.
There is also a global movement speaking in the line of abolition of the death penalty as there have been and always will be incidents of executions of innocent people. There are also incidents that death penalty being used lopsidedly against the underprivileged, minorities and members of racial, ethnic, political and religious groups.
Our judiciary though very watchful regarding the fact that death penalty cannot be a mandatory punishment under any law, however, the reports of Amnesty International proves that our judiciary has been very prone to imposing death penalty for the crimes under the criminal law.
Death penalty dents human dignity which is inborn to every human being. The World Coalition against the Death Penalty has established 10 October as the World Day against the Death Penalty in 2003 and since then this day is observed every year to raise awareness for abolishing death penalty. On 12 May 2016, a Supreme Court lawyer sent a legal notice to the government requesting it to abolish the provisions of death penalty from all laws of the country.
The lawyer expressed his intention that he will file a writ petition with the High Court seeking necessary order if the government does not repeal the provision of death penalty.
Therefore, people of Bangladesh are also stepping towards the movement against death penalty. However, how far they can succeed is a matter left upon the two most important organs, legislature and judiciary of Bangladesh.
My personal assessment suggests that there are more effective ways to prevent crime than imposing punishments like death penalty. I believe in the perspectives of restorative justice in which, crime should be viewed as injury rather than wrong-doing, and justice as healing rather than punishment.
Hence I would suggest, our judiciary taking into consideration the current context, should be more vigilant on imposing the death penalty as little as possible in order to uphold human rights and establish rule of law.

The writer is Research Assistant at Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA)

 

Death penalty in Bangladesh: Demand for abolition or less imposition

There are more effective ways to prevent crime than imposing punishments like death penalty. I believe in the perspectives of restorative justice in which, crime should be viewed as injury rather than wrong-doing, and justice as healing rather than punishment

Under the Criminal Justice System of Bangladesh, death penalty is exercised as capital punishment for the offender of crucial crimes, such as murder, sedition, offences related to possession of or trafficking in drugs, offences related to trafficking in human beings, treason, espionage, military crimes, rape, hijacking planes, sabotage, terrorism etc. Right based operation of a Criminal Justice System is rested upon characters, errands and answerability of several factors and institutions, among which, criminal law and procedure is an imperative one. Bangladesh was ranked as the third top country for imposing death sentences in the year 2015 as per the report of Amnesty International. As stated in Death Sentences and Executions Report 2015, the imposition of such sentences has risen to a distressing level. Bangladesh courts have sentenced at least 198 people to death in the year 2015. At least 1,235 people were under sentence of death at the end of 2014. Amnesty International reports that in 2014 alone, around 175 people were sentenced to death. This represents a decrease compared to 2013, when at least 220 people were sentenced to death. Article 31 of the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh (Constitution) provides that no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law. Article 32 of the Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of life or personal liberty save in accordance with law. Just one year back, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh has ruled that the mandatory death penalty under any law is unconstitutional. The court found that the constitutional provisions are violated by the mandatory application of capital punishment, reasoning that the prohibition on being deprived of life except in accordance with the law introduced a concept akin to due process. Moreover, death penalty is considered as a refutation of the most fundamental human rights as it infringes one of the most elementary principles of human rights law that states must recognize the right to life. The UN General Assembly stressed upon putting an end to the death penalty and human rights organizations concurred that its execution contravenes fundamental human rights norms as the death penalty symbolizes brutal, ruthless, or degrading treatment. Article 25 of the Constitution requires Bangladesh to base its international relations on the principles of respect for international law and the principles enunciated in the United Nations Charter. Article 47 of the Constitution recognizes humanitarian law and provides that the Constitution will not limit the application of international treaties and the law of war. Therefore, these provisions imply some recognition of international human rights although have not expressly recognized the same. There is also a global movement speaking in the line of abolition of the death penalty as there have been and always will be incidents of executions of innocent people. There are also incidents that death penalty being used lopsidedly against the underprivileged, minorities and members of racial, ethnic, political and religious groups. Our judiciary though very watchful regarding the fact that death penalty cannot be a mandatory punishment under any law, however, the reports of Amnesty International proves that our judiciary has been very prone to imposing death penalty for the crimes under the criminal law. Death penalty dents human dignity which is inborn to every human being. The World Coalition against the Death Penalty has established 10 October as the World Day against the Death Penalty in 2003 and since then this day is observed every year to raise awareness for abolishing death penalty. On 12 May 2016, a Supreme Court lawyer sent a legal notice to the government requesting it to abolish the provisions of death penalty from all laws of the country. The lawyer expressed his intention that he will file a writ petition with the High Court seeking necessary order if the government does not repeal the provision of death penalty. Therefore, people of Bangladesh are also stepping towards the movement against death penalty. However, how far they can succeed is a matter left upon the two most important organs, legislature and judiciary of Bangladesh. My personal assessment suggests that there are more effective ways to prevent crime than imposing punishments like death penalty. I believe in the perspectives of restorative justice in which, crime should be viewed as injury rather than wrong-doing, and justice as healing rather than punishment. Hence I would suggest, our judiciary taking into consideration the current context, should be more vigilant on imposing the death penalty as little as possible in order to uphold human rights and establish rule of law. The writer is Research Assistant at Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA)