Something strange happened in Bangladesh this morning! Delwar Hossain Sayeedi was spared death sentence by the appeals court in Bangladesh but my question is why? If he was a war criminal as the current government accuses him and responsible for the some of the most heinous crimes in Bangladesh during 1971's liberation war and if Abdul Kadir Mollah was hanged for the same crime, why did they spare his life and sentence him to life imprisonment?

The strange thing is the alleged crimes for which he was sentenced to death initially - crime no 8 on appeal was dropped, no 10 and changed his verdicts on no 8 to 12 years imprisonment. How can a tribunal sentence him to death once and then change that to a 12 years imprisonment? Why such a change of heart? Was this a mistake that government is trying to cover up? Was the entire tribunal a political showcase orchestrated by Awami League (AL) government to totally destroy the opposition and retain to power at any cost?

If Sayeedi or anyone is guilty of such brutality - murder, rape, arson and mayhem surely they should have faced death sentence as the law of the country stipulates and as the masses of Shahbag crowd demanded! In fact this whole trail was extremely bizarre and funny. Delwar Hossain Sayeedi was being sentenced as Delwar Shikdar or Delu Shikdar, not himself but another person. It is unbelievable that in this modern day of DNA and forensic science the tribunal never saw the need to get his DNA sample tested against the notorious Delu Shikdar whose brother, uncle and relatives are still alive! They did not see the merit of doing what is the most basic and scientific method of identifying people!

Even more comical is Delu Shikdar's brother is on record saying Sayeedi is not his brother. Sayeedi has nothing to do with his family. His brother was killed by the mob straight after the independence of Bangladesh. People were so angry with what he had done that he was beaten to death by the locals. Sayeedi was no where near this incident. So why did the government and its lawyers refuse to take the testimony of Delu Shikdar's family?

I accuse the current Bangladesh government of being illegitimate, their war crimes tribunal as a kangaroo court, their lawyers and judges as stooges of this government and their entire judicial process a sham. The entire trail was political and breached many international standards. Bangladeshi people are being taken for a ride and their basic rights are being trampled upon by a governing party that is full of armed thugs, mafia gangs and crooks. They have presided over mass murder of innocent people, disappearance and execution of political activists, extortion, looting of Bangladeshi people's wealth and extreme corruption at every level.

The end of this government is near but for that international community must raise its voice of condemnation and most importantly Bangladeshi people must rise to alter their destiny. Change can only happen when people wish to see a change!