1977 Bangladesh mass executions

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1977 Bangladesh mass executions
Bangladesh adm location map.svg
Location Bangladesh
DateOctober 9, 1977 – November, 1977 (2 months)
TargetCoup Mutineers
VictimsEstimated to about 2,000
Judge

Beginning on 9 October 1977, the government of Ziaur Rahman carried out mass executions of military personnel, following a series of attempted coups in Bangladesh. [1] [2] According to official records, 1143 members of the Bangladesh armed forces were hanged in two months, following 9 October 1977. [3] This was the first mass execution of military personnel on this scale in South Asia. [4]

Contents

Background

Attempted coups against Ziaur Rahman

Lt. General Ziaur Rahman came to power following the 7 November 1975 coup. During this time, the armed forces of Bangladesh were heavily politicised, making it susceptible to coups and mutinies. [5] Accordingly, Zia's government faced five attempted coups between November 1975 and September 1977. [6]

When Zia visited Egyptian president Anwar Sadat on 25 September 1977, Sadat warned Zia about a plot in the armed forces which Egyptian intelligence services had uncovered. [6] Zia and other high-ranking officers were to be killed during the Air Force Day celebrations on 28 September and a Marxist government was to be installed. [6] Upon returning to Dhaka, Zia cancelled his appearance at the Air Force Day celebrations. However, the event was cancelled due to the Japanese Red Army's hijacking of Japan Air Lines Flight 472, which landed at Dhaka Airport. [7]

During negotiations with the hijackers, a mutiny occurred on 30 September 1977 in Bogra, which resulted in the deaths of two officers. [8] As a result, Zia organised a meeting of all senior officers in Dhaka and instructed them to keep their armouries secure. After this meeting, Zia took shelter in a secret hideout.

Air Force Mutiny

During the early hours of 2 October 1977, members of the Bangladesh Air Force and Bangladesh Army Signals Battalion attempted to overthrow Zia's government. The mutineers called for continued armed revolution and the creation of an army without officers. [9] While the negotiations were ongoing, the mutineers arrived at Dhaka Airport and killed 11 air force officers. Zia and the Army Staff used the 46th (Dhaka) Brigade and 9th Division to suppress the uprising. [9] One company under Major Mostafa cleared the airport terminal by 7 am, after killing at least 20 Air Force mutineers and taking 60 mutineers prisoner. [9] 10 soldiers of the army were killed while fighting against the mutineers. [2] [10]

Mass executions of military personnel

Mass arrests of air force personnel

After the coup failed, Air Vice Marshall A.G. Mahmud visited the Kurmitola air force base, where some of the mutineers were from. Mahmud allegedly threatened "You have killed 11 persons, so 1100 of you, will perish". [11] Mahmud handed over control of the Kurmitola air force base to the army. Several days later, mass arrests of airmen from the Kurmitola base began. These airmen were taken to Dhaka Central Jail and tortured, which resulted in the deaths of several airmen. [11] Military personnel who were tortured to death were not included on the official death toll, according to Professor Anwar Hossain. [12]

Trials of alleged mutineers

To sentence the mutineers, Zia created 'special tribunals', which were chaired by junior commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers. [4] Military personnel who were accused of participating in the mutiny were put on trial in groups and had no access to counsel. Within 48 hours of being sentenced to death, the condemned men were executed. [13] The gallows at Dhaka Central Jail were extended, so that 3 to 4 men could be hanged at the same time. To ensure the death of the condemned men, the tendons or arteries of their hands and legs were severed after they were hanged. [1]

Prisoners at Dhaka Central Jail recall hearing the screams of military personnel who protested their innocence as they were taken to the gallows. [13] However, some military personnel were heard shouting political slogans. [14]

Mass burials in Rajshahi

Following the mutiny in Bogra, hundreds of soldiers from Bogra Cantonment were executed and buried in mass graves in Rajshahi. The authorities declared a curfew at night, in order to bury the bodies of executed men in secret. [15] Locals recalled seeing corpses dressed in army uniforms being buried at night. [15] Handcuffs were reportedly found on some of the skeletons of army personnel who were buried in Sopura Stadium Graveyard. [15]

Aftermath

In Bangladesh: A legacy of Blood , Journalist Anthony Mascarenhas described the mass executions as "the most brutal, devastating punishment exercise in the history of Bangladesh, carried out with utmost speed and total disregard for justice and the legal process”. [4]

The Daily Observer claimed "Nowhere else in the world has such incidents occurred, except in war times". [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ziaur Rahman</span> President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981 and killer of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Ziaur Rahman was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination. He was the founder of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and served as its chairman until his assassination. He previously served as the second chief of army staff from 1975 to 1978 with a minor break.

Abu Taher was a Bengali military serviceman, who served in the Pakistan Army, and later in BDF. He crossed into India around early August and reported to the Indian authorities. After a week screening at Dehradun, India, Taher reported to Kolkata, Bangladesh Provincial government at 8 Theatre Rd. He was ordered to report to Sector 11 of Mukti Bahini under command of Major Ziaur Rahman, he became the sector commander after him. He served in BDF from end of August to 2 November 1971. He was awarded the medal Bir Uttom for his gallantry in the liberation war. He was released from military service by Indian military medical board in Pune, India after his leg was amputated. After independence, he was inducted into the Bangladesh Army for administrative retirement with legacy rank of lieutenant colonel. After settling in with family, the government of Bangladesh appointed him with employment at Kumilla. Later Taher turned into a political activist and leader of the left-wing Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal.

Khaled Mosharraf, Bir Uttom was a Bangladeshi army officer who is known for his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War and the subsequent coups in post-independence Bangladesh. After deposing Khondakar Mustaq Ahmad in the 3 November 1975 coup, Mosharraf was assassinated on 7 November 1975.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutiny</span> Failed Bangladeshi Air Force mutiny of 1977

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The 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état was a military coup launched by mid ranking army officers in Bangladesh on 15 August 1975. The officers were part of a conspiracy to assassinate Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Founding Father of Bangladesh, who led the independence struggle during the Bangladesh Liberation War and later served as the first and fourth President and later in between his two presidential terms served as the second Prime Minister of Bangladesh from April 1971 until his assassination in August 1975. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members were killed during the coup, with the exception of his two daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammad Delwar Hossain</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rafiqul Hassan Khan</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamil Haque</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 sun, daily. "Straight Talk: Bangladesh's Forgotten Mass Execution | Daily Sun |". daily sun. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  2. 1 2 ". . . A dictator and his victims". The Daily Star. 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  3. ↑ Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh : a legacy of blood. London. p. 148. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. 1 2 3 Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh : a legacy of blood. London. p. 149. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ↑ Khan, Zillur R. (1952-04-02). "Politicization of the Bangladesh Military: A Response to Perceived Shortcomings of Civilian Government". Asian Survey. 21 (5): 551–564. doi:10.2307/2643833. ISSN   0004-4687. JSTOR   2643833.
  6. 1 2 3 Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh : a legacy of blood. London. p. 145. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ↑ "Bangladesh Says It Has Put Down An Armed Coup". The New York Times. 1977-10-02. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  8. ↑ Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh : a legacy of blood. London. p. 146. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. 1 2 3 Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh : a legacy of blood. London. p. 147. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ↑ Rashiduzzaman (1978). "Bangladesh in 1977: Dilemmas of the Military Rulers". Asian Survey. 18 (2): 126–134. doi:10.2307/2643306. JSTOR   2643306 . Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  11. 1 2 3 "Clandestine killings in the Bangladesh Army - 1592.php-16-01". www.observerbd.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  12. ↑ Mass Killing of Soldiers in Air Force, Plotted By Gen. Zia in 1977 , retrieved 2023-03-14
  13. 1 2 Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh : a legacy of blood. London. p. 150. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ↑ "Clandestine killings in the Bangladesh Army - 1793.php-18-01". www.observerbd.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  15. 1 2 3 "Clandestine killings in the Bangladesh Army - 1891.php-19-01". www.observerbd.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
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