An open letter for stopping Mir Quasem Ali's execution - 2

Dear Sir or Madam:

As you are no doubt aware, Bangladesh recently has been a scene of shocking human rights violations with a number of executions involving seniors, for crimes alleged to have been committed decades ago, without presence of any substantial evidence.

Mir Quasem Ali, who lives in Bangladesh, is a famous Bangladeshi philanthropist and dedicated his entire life to helping people who have to live in difficult conditions.  Today, he is facing execution seemingly for politically charged reasons.

Mir Quasem Ali seems to be the latest victim of Bangladeshi government’s intolerance towards opposition. There are strong concerns that his arrest might be due to the criticism of the government in his newspaper. The fact that there is no documentary evidence or eyewitnesses to prove his guilt only reinforces these doubts.  Furthermore, the Chief Justice pointed out to the fact that there is no substantial evidence against him and was therefore removed from his duty. This and many other details make it clear that Mir Quasem Ali didn't get a fair trial.

However, the real point that we would like to draw attention to, is not if he got a fair trial or not.

No human being deserves execution. Executing a person is not a punishment; this practice is ending the life of someone without giving him/her any opportunity for redemption.

Executing people, which is an extension of the darkness of the Middle Ages, is ruining the civilization of our world.

Even if it is proven that a person is guilty, the maximum punishment should be life sentence. Capital punishment can never be acceptable. Furthermore, at this point, there is not any evidence supporting the claim that Mir Quasem Ali is guilty.

We are kindly asking you to take action and urge the Bangladeshi government and courts to stop these executions and call for the stay of execution of Mir Quasem Ali.

Yours truly,