Dubai Killings
Dhaka's move to save its 2 nationals failed
Bangladesh's move to save the lives of two of its nationals, accused of killing three of their compatriots in the UAE, has failed as the families of the victims have refused to forgive them.
On May 2 last year, Harunur Rashid of Agrabad murdered two brothers -- Ayub, 28, and Tayab, 25, -- of Fatikchhari over personal enmity in Ras Al Khaima, while Shahabuddin of Fatickchari killed Jamaluddin alias Yunus in Dubai on November 11, 2009.
“Today (Friday) was the last date for the families to show mercy to the accused, but they didn't,” Zahirul Alam Majumder, assistant director of the District Manpower and Employment Office in Chittagong, told The Daily Star yesterday.
Harunur and Shahabuddin have confessed to their crimes and are now in a Dubai jail. They might face execution as a Dubai court is scheduled to announce its verdict on Monday in separate murder cases. They are standing trial under Sharia law in the United Arab Emirates, where the death penalty is served for killing.
“As both the families have not changed their mind after repeated attempts, things will go as per the verdict,” said Zahirul.
Had the families pardoned them even in exchange for blood money, it could have spared them from execution, he added.
The probable execution of the two Bangladeshis comes only in four months of beheading of eight Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia for killing an Egyptian. There were allegations that the Bangladesh authorities did not do enough to seek mercy from the victim's family.
Shahabuddin was awarded death sentence in 2010, but he appealed to a higher court, said Mohammad Mohsin, director (welfare) at Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training.
Sensing that the accused might be awarded capital punishment, Bangladesh mission in Dubai requested the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment to communicate with the families of the deceased and the accused to reach a compromise.
The ministry responded by asking the Chittagong deputy commissioner (DC) and local leaders for help in this regard.
Three days ago, the DC along with Fatickchaari upazila chairman tried to persuade Rokeya Begum, mother of the victim brothers, for mercy, but failed in their bid.
“Rokeya Begum is so shocked that she threatened to commit suicide if she is asked to forgive the accused,” said Zahirul Alam.
Some local government representatives and relatives of the victims' families were also engaged to convince the victims' family and inform the decision by yesterday. But the initiative also failed, he mentioned.
“Rokeya Begum had only two sons, who lost their father in their childhood. Throughout her life, she struggled to bring them up,” Nasiruddin, maternal uncle of the duo, told The Daily Star yesterday.
She is now too weak to survive without medicine, added Nasiruddin.
Zahirul said they tried their utmost to persuade the families of the dead, as it is a matter of Bangladesh's image in the UAE -- hosting around 15 lakh Bangladeshi workers.
The killings of Bangladeshis were brutal, but now the probable execution of two more will be no less tragic for their families, maintained the manpower department official.
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