July 12th, 2012

Hon. Joe Wilson of South Carolina has called for justice for Mir Quasem Ali in his speech in the House of Representatives. Hon. Wilson, a Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, has met with Mir Ahmad BinQuasem of Bangladesh who informed him that hs father, Mir Quasem Ali, had been arrested on 17 June 2012 by the Bangladesh Internaitonal War Crimes Tribunal.

Mir Quasem Ali is the owner of the largest opposition-run media outlet which has openly raised criticsm against the Tribunal as well as agaisnt the ruling government at-large. Hon. Wilson stressed his concern “that his arrest and ongoing detention may represent a thinly-veiled attempt by the ruling government of Bangladesh to silence its opponents and critics.”

Furthermore Hon. Wilson stated that he has come to his attention that the Bangladesh Tribunal “is inherently flawed and lacks compliance with international standards”. Hon. Wilson said that “it appears that the Tribunal is international in name only, as it lacks international oversight or involvement, experienced foreign attorneys have been banned from participating, and the Tribunal violates at least two of Bangladesh’s international treaty obligations.”

With this call for justice and his strongly worded concerns, Hon Joe Wilson has joined the ever growing group of voices raising their concerns in relation to the conduct of the Tribunal.

Keywords/Tags: Crime against humanity, International Crimes Tribunal, Jamaat-e-Islami, Mir Qashem Ali, war crimes trial, আন্তর্জাতিক অপরাধ ট্রাইব্যুনাল, জামায়াতে ইসলামী, মানবতার বিরুদ্ধে অপরাধ, মীর কাশেম আলী, যুদ্ধাপরাধী বিচার