Ghulam Azam was on Peace Committee Says his counsel,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

The defence of Ghulam Azam yesterday said there was no way to deny that he was a member of the Peace Committee during the Liberation War but it was not a crime.
“But it is not a crime in this act [International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973]. It was crime under the Collaborators Act, 1972, [repealed]”, said defence counsel Mizanul Islam.
He said this in reply to a question from Justice Anwarul Haque of the three-member tribunal.
The defence was placing its closing arguments in the crimes against humanity case at the International Crimes Tribunal-1.
On May 13, 2012, Ghulam Azam also said he was on the list of collaborators of the Pakistani army but denied he was a war criminal.
Justice Anwarul Haque yesterday asked the defence counsel that according to the abstract of East Pakistan Police, submitted by the prosecution, Ghulam Azam made speeches at different times in peace committee (a collaborator force) meetings.
Mizanul argued that whether the abstract of East Pakistan Police would be considered official after March 26, 1971, was debateable. “I will place detailed arguments over the matter later,” he added.
In January, 1972, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s government passed the Collaborators Act, 1972, to try the collaborators and war criminals.
“Those who were punished for or accused of rape, murder, attempt to murder or arson will not come under general amnesty under section-1,” reads section-2 of the act.
According to historical records, out of 37,000 sent to jail on charges of collaboration, about 26,000 were freed following announcement of the general amnesty.
Around 11,000 were behind bars when the government of Justice Sayem and late president Ziaur Rahman repealed the act on December 31, 1975.
An appeal spree and release of war criminals en masse followed the scrapping of the law.
During this period, Ghulam Azam was outside the country.
The defence yesterday placed their arguments on the investigation officer and first prosecution witness’s testimony.
The proceeding of the case was adjourned until today.

Sammilita Sangskritik Jote calls hartal for Saturday in Narayanganj,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

Sammilita Sangskritik Jote will enforce a daylong shutdown in Narayanganj on Saturday to protest the killing of Tanvir Md Toki son of its vice president Md Rafiur Rabbi, also the convener of Narayanganj Gonojagoron Mancha.

Jahidul Haque Bhuiyan Dipu, convener of the jote, confirmed the hartal (Shutdown) to.
Earlier on the day, police recovered the body of Toki, 18, from Sitalakkha river in Narayanganj on Friday, two days into his missing, reports our correspondent from Narayanganj.
On information police rushed in and recovered the floating body of Toki from the river in Kumudini area around 10:45am, Manjur Quader, officer-in-charge of Narayanganj Sadar Police Station.
The body was sent to the Narayanganj Sadar Hospital for autopsy, the OC said.

Sylhet city Jamaat Nayeb-e-ameer held Hartal in Sylhet division Wednesday to demand release

BANGLADESH NEWS

Demanding his immediate release, the Sylhet city Jamaat has threatened with enforcing a daylong shutdown in the division on Wednesday if Jubair is not released within 24 hours.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of the elite force conducted a raid at room No. 303 of Hotel Garden Residence in Uttara and arrested Jubair, Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan, director of intelligence wing of Rab, Sunday morning.

The Jamaat leader was taken to the Rab headquarters in Uttara immediately after his arrest, the Rab official added.

As the news spread, over 200 leaders and activists of Jamaat Sylhet city unit brought out a procession from Bandar Bazar around 10:00am and ended on Jail Road.

Sayef Ahmed, nayeb-e-ameer of the city unit who led the procession, gave the government an ultimatum to release Jubair in 24 hours, reports our Sylhet correspondent.

“Otherwise, we will enforce a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the city on Wednesday,” Sayef said.

Jamaat men also brought out several processions at Shibganj, Mirabazar, Madina Market, Khadimnagar in the city demanding immediate release of Jubair.

Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir:finally visits affected area in Ctg

BANGLADESH NEWS

Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir yesterday said the state will make its highest effort to punish the attackers of religious minorities.
He was addressing a meeting at Banshkhali Upazila Parishad ground after visiting different areas affected by Jamaat-Shibir violence on February 28.
It was his first visit to an affected area after the Jamaat-Shibir men had unleashed mayhem across the country on that day, hours after the International Crimes Tribunal-1 awarded death penalty to Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.
“Those who attacked the religious minorities and torched their houses and temples are anti-liberation forces. They [attackers] are against our country and Liberation War and Bangladesh has no place for them,” said MK Alamgir.
He pledged to confront with iron hands those who are trying to foil the war crimes trial and attacked the religious minorities.
The minister visited the affected Hindu families, temples, UNO office, upazila parishad office and court building under Banshkhali Municipality.
He distributed Tk 10,000 among each of seven Hindu families whose houses were burned down in the attack.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal lawmaker Mainuddin Khan Badal, Awami League lawmakers MA Latif, Cheman Ara Tayab, Inspector General of Police Hasan Mahmud Khandaker, Director General of Rapid Action Battalion Mokhlesur Rahman and Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong Abdul Mannan were present, among others.
On February 28, activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student front Islami Chhatra Shibir vandalised and torched the courts of senior judicial magistrate and senior assistant judge, Upazila Parishad office, upazila krishi office, office of upazila fisheries officer and office of upazila nirbahi officer (UNO).

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC):moves to seize Destiny Group’s assets

BANGLADESH NEWS

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has taken a move to seize all the movable and immovable property of controversial Destiny Group.

An investigation panel of the anti-graft body has already sent the copy of a court order to 48 relevant government offices in 23 districts to seize the Density property.

The offices include Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Chittagong Metropolitan Police, Rajshahi Metropolitan Police and Bangladesh Road and Transport Authority (BRTA).

ACC officials said the Destiny Group has a huge amount of movable and immovable property, including land, cars, buildings and flats.

The court order was also sent to the deputy commissioners (DCs) and other authorities concerned so that the company cannot sell or hand over its property.

In November last year, a Dhaka court ordered confiscation of all the movable and immovable property of Destiny Group, its chairman, managing director and his wife in two money-laundering cases.

Earlier on October 2, the same court had ordered freezing of 533 bank accounts of Destiny officials following an ACC petition.

The graft watchdog on July 31, 2012 filed the money-laundering cases against Destiny Group President Lt Gen (retd) Harun-Ar-Rashid and managing director Rafiqul Amin and 20 others on charge of misappropriating its clients money of around Tk 35 billion.

Govt has to pay high price for police action:BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir

BANGLADESH NEWS

BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and Sadeque Hossain Khoka talk to media after their release Tuesday. They were picked up by police from the party’s Nayapaltan office yesterday. 

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said the government will have to pay a high price for Monday’s police action at the party’s headquarters.
“The law enforcers attacked the office and detained leaders and activists without producing any warrant,” Fakhrul said in a press briefing at BNP Nayapaltan central office in the capital around 5:15pm on Tuesday.
He accused the government of striking at the root of the democracy through the attack on the opposition.
Earlier on Monday evening, police raiding the headquarters of the main opposition party picked up over 200 BNP leaders and activists including Fakhrul.
Fakhrul along with former home minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka were released around 1:00pm.
An hour into his release, Fakhrul held a press briefing at BNP head office where he said the opposition would launch a tougher movement if its leaders and activists detained during Monday’s raid are not released immediately.
“We were released in the face of public demonstration,” Fakhrul told reporters during a press briefing at BNP headquarters in Nayapaltan of the capital immediately after his release on Tuesday afternoon.
“We will launch tougher movement if our leaders and activists detained during yesterday’s raid are not released immediately,” the BNP leader warned.
A homemade cocktail was exploded outside the BNP office while the BNP leader was holding the press briefing around 2:00pm.

The three leaders walked out of capital’s DB (Detective Branch of police) office around 1:00pm, Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (media centre)
During the press briefing, Fakhrul also demanded immediate withdrawal of ‘false cases’ filed against opposition leaders.
He also strongly condemned Monday’s raid and vandalism at the party office and detention of opposition leaders and activists.
The BNP leader claimed that his party was compelled to suspend its national council slated for March 19 as police took away the documents relating to the council during Monday’s raid.
Fakhrul alleged that recent activities of the government were pushing the country into a chaotic situation.
But the government instead was blaming the opposition for the anarchy, he added.
Police on Monday arrested more than 200 opposition leaders, including BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul, party Vice-Chairman Altaf and party city unit convener Khoka, during a two and a half hours’ raid at the party’s central office in the capital.
During the raid, police and members of intelligence agencies recovered 12 homemade bombs from the third and fourth floors of the BNP headquarters.
The raid was launched after some homemade bombs had been blasted near a BNP rally in front of its office.
Nearly one hour before the release of the party leaders, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said the top BNP leaders detained during Monday’s raid will be released soon.
“Instruction for releasing the leaders has already been given. So there is no necessity of calling more hartal or launching any movement centering the issue,” Hanif said while talking to reporters at Awami League central office in Bangabandhu Avenue.
He also said that during yesterday’s raid at the BNP office, the law enforcers could have show more tolerance.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s remarks condemned

BANGLADESH NEWS

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad has condemned BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s remarks that Gonojagoron Mancha at Shahbagh is a platform of atheists and that the Shahbagh youths are spoilt boys and girls.
They demanded Khaleda withdraw her remarks, said a statement of the parishad yesterday.
The parishad leaders said the remarks of Khaleda Zia, who was two times prime minister of Bangladesh, were partial towards the war criminals, which is very unfortunate.
They said the remarks have hurt religious sentiments of everyone and also ignored and insulted the youths who are the country’s assets.
Khaleda made the remarks while she was addressing a rally at Munshiganj on March 15.

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee:to appeal by March 29

BANGLADESH NEWS

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee will lodge an appeal to the Supreme Court by March 29 to challenge his conviction for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.
Defence lawyers are now working on the appeal, which will also seek acquittal for Sayedee on the war crimes charges he faced at the International Crimes Tribunal-1.
The tribunal on February 28 had sentenced the Jamaat leader to death on two charges, though it found the accused “guilty beyond doubt” on eight.
The last date for filing the appeal is March 30, Sayedee’s counsel Tajul Islam told .
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court will have to dispose of the appeal within 60 days of its filing.
The accused was sentenced to death for the abduction, torture and murder of Ibrahim Kutti and the killing of Bisa Bali in Pirojpur.
The ICT-1, said Tajul, has handed down capital punishment to Sayedee on charge of killing Ibrahim Kutti in May 1971 without considering the defence evidence.
Ibrahim’s wife Momtaj Begum had filed a case in January 1972 citing that her husband was killed in September 1971, and the case statement and its charge sheet effect were submitted to the tribunal, but the court did not take into cognizance the evidence, mentioned Tajul.
The tribunal, added the lawyer, sentenced Sayedee to death for killing Bisa Bali, although his brother Sukharanjan Bali in a written statement said Sayedee was not involved in the murder of his brother.
The defence produced the statement of Sukharanjan before the tribunal as he (Sukharanjan) was abducted from tribunal premises. But the court in its verdict has not mentioned anything about this evidence, said Tajul.
Prosecutor Syed Haider Ali said they will present argument in the apex court to uphold the tribunal’s verdict against Sayedee.

Chapainawabganj Thanks To Jamaat No electricity in Kansat,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

Jamaat-Shibir men torched the power substation, bottom, in Kansat of Chapainawabganj on February 28, the day Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced to death. Since then there has been no electricity in Kansat of Shibganj upazila as seen in the recent photo where a man at a shop irons cloths with a coal-powered iron. The irony is: in 2006 the people of Kansat rose against the then BNP-led government demanding uninterrupted power supply. They clashed with law enforces and men from BNP for the power to run their irrigation pumps. Many lives were lost for the electricity Kansat people needed for their livelihood. And seven years later, men of a BNP ally have put them back in the dark again.