European Union called on the Bangladesh government to relax war crimes convict Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman’s death sentence as part of the organisation’s stance against capital punishment.

In a statement, received in Dhaka on Thursday, the EU said it reiterated ‘its opposition to the use of capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances’ after the Bangladesh Supreme Court turned down the Jamaat leader’s appeal to review a death sentence order he was handed by an International Crimes Tribunal for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Independence War.

‘Capital punishment is not a deterrent against crime and makes miscarriages of justice irreversible,’ the statement read.

EU also urged the government to ban death punishment altogether.