1977 Bangladesh mass executions

Last updated
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

Ziaur RahmanBU HJ HOR was a Bangladeshi military officer, freedom fighter and politician who served as the sixth President of Bangladesh from 1977 until his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of country's Liberation War, he broadcast the Bangladeshi declaration of independence on 27 March 1971 from Chittagong. He was the founder of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He previously served as the third chief of army staff from 1975 to 1978 with a minor break.

Lt. Col. Abu Taher BU was a Bangladeshi military officer and war hero. He first served in the Pakistan Army, and later defected to the Bangladesh Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khaled Mosharraf</span> Bangladeshi army officer (1937–1975)

Khaled Mosharraf BU was a Major General in Bangladeshi army 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military coups in Bangladesh</span> Coups détat executed by the military in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has undergone several changes of government since the Proclamation of Independence in 1971. Between the first recorded uprising in August 1975 and the 2009 Bangladesh Rifles revolt, Bangladesh has been through as many as 29 military coups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assassination of Ziaur Rahman</span> 1981 murder of former president of Bangladesh in Chittagong, Bangladesh

Assassination of Ziaur Rahman refers to the killing of Ziaur Rahman, the sixth president of Bangladesh and was assassinated by a faction of officers of Bangladesh Army, on 30 May 1981, in the southeastern port city of Chittagong. Rahman went to Chittagong to arbitrate in a clash between the local leaders of his political party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). On the night of 30 May, a group of officers commandeered the Chittagong Circuit House, a government residence where Rahman was staying, shooting him and several others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini</span> Bangladeshi para-military force

The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini was a Bangladeshi para-military force formed in 1972 by the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government.

Neville Anthony Mascarenhas was a Pakistani journalist and author. His works include exposés on the brutality of Pakistan's military during the 1971 independence movement of Bangladesh, The Rape of Bangla Desh (1971) and Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood (1986). In 1971, he wrote the article titled Genocide, published by the Sunday Times, which has been dubbed as an article that "changed history", and recognized as "one of the most influential pieces of South Asian journalism of the past half century"

Major General Khaled Mosharraf was assassinated on November 7, 1975. He was a Bangladeshi military officer who was the Sector Commander of Bangladesh Forces Sector 2 and K-Force Brigade Commander during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency</span> Anti-government socialist insurgency after the independence of Bangladesh

1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency refers to the period after the independence of Bangladesh when left-wing insurgents, particularly the Gonobahini fought against the government of the Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The government responded by forming the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini, which began a crackdown on the general populace. The force became involved in the numerous charges of human rights abuse including political killings, shooting by death squads, and large number of rapes on women. The insurgency was one of the main reasons for the fall of Sheikh Mujib.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AKM Mozammel Haque (politician)</span> Bangladeshi politician

AKM Mozammel Haque is a politician from Bangladesh, representing the Bangladesh Awami League party. He was the Minister for Liberation War Affairs from 2014 to 2024 and is also a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Gazipur-1 constituency.

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

The 1977 Bangladesh Air Force mutiny was an attempted coup staged on 2 October 1977 by members of Bangladesh Air Force and the Signal Corps of Bangladesh Army. The mutiny was led by Sergeant Afsar Ali Khan of the air force, who was a member of the Communist Party of East Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état</span> 1975 military uprising in Bangladesh

The 7 November 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état, also known as the Sipahi–Janata Revolution, was launched by left-wing soldiers (Sipahi) of Biplobi Shainik Sangstha (BSS) under the leadership of Col. (retd.) Abu Taher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biplobi Shainik Sangstha</span> 1970s socialist mutineer group in Bangladesh

The Biplobi Shainik Sangstha was a clandestine revolutionary socialist group of sepoy mutineers within the Bangladesh Army, active from 1973 to 1975. The BSS was formed by the vanguard socialist-revolutionary party Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSaD) and led by Maj. M.A. Jalil and Lt. Col. (retd.) Abu Taher. The BSS is known for staging the 7 November 1975 coup through the Sipahi–Janata Revolution, which would eventually make way for the rise of Lt. Gen. Ziaur Rahman in the country's politics.

The 1976 Bogra mutiny was a rebellion on 30 April 1976 of Bangladesh Army soldiers stationed in Bogra Cantonment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Yousuf Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman</span> Bangladeshi army officer

Abu Yousuf Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman, also known as A.Y.M. Mahfuzur Rahman, was a Bangladeshi army officer who served as a sub-sector commander during the Bangladesh Liberation War. In 1981, he was executed for his alleged involvement in the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman.

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

Mohammad Delwar Hossain was a lieutenant colonel in the Bangladesh Army who had served as a sub-sector commander in sector 6 during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was subsequently executed for his alleged involvement in the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman in 1981.

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

Rafiqul Hassan Khan was a Bangladeshi army officer who was executed for this alleged involvement in the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman.

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

Jamil Haque was a Captain in the Bangladesh Army who was executed for his involvement in the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mujibur Rahman (officer, born 1953)</span>

Mujibur Rahman was a Bangladeshi army officer who was executed for his alleged role in the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman.

Matiur Rahman, also known as Motiur Rahman, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Bangladesh Army who was involved in the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman on 30 May 1981. He is believed to be the one to have shot and killed Ziaur Rahman. Matiur was subsequently killed in a shootout with troops loyal to the government on 1 June 1981.

References

  1. 1 2 "Straight Talk: Bangladesh's Forgotten Mass Execution". 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. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 148. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.
  4. 1 2 3 Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh : a legacy of blood. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 149. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.
  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. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.
  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. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 146. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.
  9. 1 2 3 Mascarenhas, Anthony (1986). Bangladesh : a legacy of blood. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 147. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.
  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". The Daily Observer. 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. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 150. ISBN   978-0-340-39420-5. OCLC   16583315.
  14. ↑ "Clandestine killings in the Bangladesh Army - 1793.php-18-01". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  15. 1 2 3 "Clandestine killings in the Bangladesh Army - 1891.php-19-01". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.