1 of 1 Shahjahan Bhuiyan, an arrested Bangladeshi executioner who executed more than 20 other prisoners in exchange for sentence reductions, was released on June 18 Photo: AFP Shahjahan Bhuiyan, an arrested Bangladeshi executioner who executed more than 20 more prisoners executed reductions, was published on June 18 Photo: AFP
According to official sources, a Bangladeshi executioner who had executed more than 20 other prisoners in exchange for reduced prison sentences was released on Sunday.
Shahjahan Bhuiyan, who was jailed for murder 32 years ago, rose to fame by executing 26 people in prison after telling prison officials he had rope skills.
Among those he executed were military officers convicted of instigating a coup in 1975 and the assassination of the country’s founding leader, the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“His sentence was reduced because of the executions he carried out,” Tania Zaman, deputy chief of Dhaka Central Prison, told AFP.
The 74yearold executioner also hanged Islamist leader Ali Ahsan Mujahid and his opponent Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury after they were charged with war crimes, according to another prison official who asked to remain anonymous.
Also on the list is Siddique Islam, known as Bangla Bhai, an Islamist leader of the Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh organization that led a nationwide bombing campaign in 2005, the official added.
Shahjahan Bhuiyan defended his actions, saying they helped him get his sentence reduced.
“If I didn’t hang her, someone else would,” he explained. “Though I feel sorry for them, I have to do it like a convict,” he said.
Bangladesh inherited the death penalty from its British colonial masters and has executed nearly 500 people since gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971. It is one of the few countries where death sentences by hanging are still carried out.
Like Bhuiyan, all executioners are longterm inmates who have been handpicked and trained for the job.