BANGLADESH. MAN EXECUTED FOR KILLING WIFE IN DISPUTE OVER DOWRY

Abul Kalam Azad, a Bangladeshi man convicted of killing his newlywed wife after she failed to meet his demand for dowry, was hanged to death in the early morning. The execution of Azad, a former bank official, took place in Dhaka Central Jail, the head of the prison, Maj. Shamsul Haider Siddiky, told reporters. The execution came days after President Iajuddin Ahmed turned down Azad's clemency appeal.
In 2000, a trial court convicted Azad of strangulating his newlywed wife Mahmuda Sultana to death in Narayanganj town near Bangladesh capital Dhaka the previous year.
The court was told that Azad asked his wife to bring him an unspecified amount of money from her middle class family to start a business. He started beating her after she said her family was unable to give him the money. On October 29, 1999, Azad was involved in an argument with his wife over his demand, the prosecution said. The next morning the woman was found dead in her bedroom, a piece of cloth tied around her neck. Azad claimed she committed suicide.