DHAKA NEWS
Dhaka, Apr 19 The officer investigating the war crimes charges against Jamaat-e-Islami leaderl Delwar Hossain Sayedee in his deposition on Thursday said that a number of records and documents dating back to 1971 had been destroyed.
Appearing before the International Crimes Tribunal-1, set up to deal with crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, ASP Mohammad Helal Uddin said on the eighth day of his deposition that during his investigation he had found a number of relevant documents and records destroyed.
He said the records were destroyed during the regimes that followed the assassination of Bangladesh's founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 along with most of his immediate family members.
Helal Uddin, the prosecution's 28th witness, on Thursday managed to successfully exhibit photographs and video recordings of the two places of occurrence from Pirojpur where Jamaat executive council member Sayedee is alleged to have carried crimes against humanity during the War of Independence.
Helal Uddin showed the court photographs of Bhagirathi Square and those of Bhanu Saha's house. Both Bhagirathi and Bhanu Saha were victims of crimes against humanity. The tribunal indicted Sayedee on 20 counts of such crimes on Oct 3, 2011.
The investigator also said Sayedee went into hiding soon after the Liberation War when freedom fighters returned to his native Parerhat and began hunting down those who had collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces.
Sayedee had allegedly been part of the founding members of the local Peace Committee and thereafter spearheaded formation of the local Razakar Unit.
The Peace Committee was envisioned centrally by a group of people opposing the liberation of Bangladesh for active collaboration with the Pakistani army and thwarting the liberation effort in 1971.
The Razakars, similar to other vigilante militia like the Al Badr and Al Shams, are alleged to have committed atrocities across the country to defeat the liberation forces.
Helal Uddin told the court that Sayedee had been in hiding for a long time in a village of Bagharpara in Jessore. "But after some time, when people came to know about his identity, Sayedee fled the area on a cow cart."
The investigation officer exhibited pictures of the house of a Rowshan Ali where Sayedee had been hiding after the war.
FIRST CASE TO TRIAL
Sayedee's is the first case to proceed to the trial stage at the tribunal. The prosecution on Sept 4 proposed framing of charges against him on 31 counts for crimes against humanity and genocide.
The tribunal also sent Jamaat's former chief Ghulam Azam to jail on Jan 11. His indictment hearing began on Feb 15.
Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party's standing committee member and MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury have been detained on war crimes charges.
The tribunal granted conditional bail to former BNP lawmaker and minister Abdul Alim on Mar 31 last year. The bail was extended further, until Apr 24 when the next hearing of Alim's case is scheduled. Alim has been ordered to be present in the court on that day.
Appearing before the International Crimes Tribunal-1, set up to deal with crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, ASP Mohammad Helal Uddin said on the eighth day of his deposition that during his investigation he had found a number of relevant documents and records destroyed.
He said the records were destroyed during the regimes that followed the assassination of Bangladesh's founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975 along with most of his immediate family members.
Helal Uddin, the prosecution's 28th witness, on Thursday managed to successfully exhibit photographs and video recordings of the two places of occurrence from Pirojpur where Jamaat executive council member Sayedee is alleged to have carried crimes against humanity during the War of Independence.
Helal Uddin showed the court photographs of Bhagirathi Square and those of Bhanu Saha's house. Both Bhagirathi and Bhanu Saha were victims of crimes against humanity. The tribunal indicted Sayedee on 20 counts of such crimes on Oct 3, 2011.
The investigator also said Sayedee went into hiding soon after the Liberation War when freedom fighters returned to his native Parerhat and began hunting down those who had collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces.
Sayedee had allegedly been part of the founding members of the local Peace Committee and thereafter spearheaded formation of the local Razakar Unit.
The Peace Committee was envisioned centrally by a group of people opposing the liberation of Bangladesh for active collaboration with the Pakistani army and thwarting the liberation effort in 1971.
The Razakars, similar to other vigilante militia like the Al Badr and Al Shams, are alleged to have committed atrocities across the country to defeat the liberation forces.
Helal Uddin told the court that Sayedee had been in hiding for a long time in a village of Bagharpara in Jessore. "But after some time, when people came to know about his identity, Sayedee fled the area on a cow cart."
The investigation officer exhibited pictures of the house of a Rowshan Ali where Sayedee had been hiding after the war.
FIRST CASE TO TRIAL
Sayedee's is the first case to proceed to the trial stage at the tribunal. The prosecution on Sept 4 proposed framing of charges against him on 31 counts for crimes against humanity and genocide.
The tribunal also sent Jamaat's former chief Ghulam Azam to jail on Jan 11. His indictment hearing began on Feb 15.
Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party's standing committee member and MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury have been detained on war crimes charges.
The tribunal granted conditional bail to former BNP lawmaker and minister Abdul Alim on Mar 31 last year. The bail was extended further, until Apr 24 when the next hearing of Alim's case is scheduled. Alim has been ordered to be present in the court on that day.
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