Bangladesh: Death penalty to stay in terrorism law

A Bangladesh government committee is pressing ahead with plans to include the death penalty in new anti-terrorism legislation, according to The New Nation.

The news service reports that a Cabinet committee met on 16 May and agreed to study a draft Anti-Terrorism Act 2006 which includes a maximum sentence of the death penalty.

Cabinet agreed on 13 March to form the committee to examine the draft law in detail.

The New Nation reports that the Cabinet committee’s chair said the draft act would be finalised by 18 June.

It says the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee and Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Moudud Ahmed told journalists after the meeting that the act would then be submitted to Cabinet for final approval.

Moudud Ahmed said the Anti-Terrorism Act 2006 would be introduced into Parliament after the passage of the National Budget.

In recent years Bangladesh has come under pressure from the United States and the EU to take stronger action to combat terrorism.

The New Nation reports that the draft anti-terrorism act was prepared after research into similar legislation in effect in the UK, the United States, India, Pakistan and Indonesia.