DHAKA NEWS
Dhaka, Mar 29 The war crimes tribunal will issue Jamaat-e-Islami guru Ghulam Azam's indictment order on Apr 17.
The International Crimes Tribunal, set up to deal with crimes against humanity during the 1971 War of Independence, set the date after hearing arguments of both the prosecution and defence for and against the former Jamaat chief's indictment.
Earlier on Thursday, the tribunal adjourned hearing defence arguments against Jamaat assistant secretary general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman's indictment to Apr 1.
Prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum began his arguments against Ghulam Azam's discharge petition and started with a petition, which was kept aside after some discussion.
Malum pleaded that the tribunal ask for copies all decisions, meeting minutes, records, organogram, posters, leaflets, brochures, publications and such material of Jamaat-e-Islami for most of the period since its formation in the 1940s until 2012.
The tribunal pointed out that the application was filed under a certain section of the law that would apply only after commencement of the trial, meaning after indictment.
The tribunal also told the prosecutor that he had not mentioned from whom the tribunal would ask all these documents, which would be rather voluminous.
The newly appointed tribunal member, Justice Mohammad Anwarul Haque, told him, "You must specify a person, or we cannot issue an order just like that."
Malum then suggested that the accused may be asked to provide the records.
Justice Nizamul Huq, the tribunal chairman, asked, "Do office bearers of political parties take all the records with them when they retire?"
The other tribunal member, Judge A K M Zaheer Ahmed, then pointed out that the accused was not even affiliated with Jamaat in the early 1940s and getting those documents would be pointless.
The judge suggested that the prosecutor should perhaps concentrate more on 1971 and the individual.
The prosecutor went on to supply the tribunal with the copy of a gazette notification which clearly showed, and quite beyond doubt, that the Razakar forces were a part and parcel of the Pakistani occupation army.
The tribunal was convinced that this would do away with any doubts whether the Razakars constituted an auxiliary force.
Abdur Razzaq, the senior counsel, representing the entire Jamaat leadership, has been contending that Razakar, Al Badr or Al Shams did not constitute auxiliary forces as defined by the relevant laws.
The gazette was a part of prime minister Sheikh Hasina's speech in parliament on Apr 16, 1992 when she was in opposition.
Zead-Al-Malum then read the speeches of both Hasina and Awami League leader Mohammad Nasim at length.
He ended his arguments saying that there were clear evidence against Ghulam Azam for crimes against humanity during the war and charges ought to be framed against him.
Judge Zaheer Ahmed clarified that unlike the charges against another Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee, and BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, the charges were not separated. "You have brought five charges. There is one for the murder of Siru Miah. And then there are charges for complicity, conspiracy, incitement and command responsibility."
Malum agreed. Judge Zaheer Ahmed then said that it would have made the tribunal's job easier if the prosecution presented its case in a more organised manner as the defence does.
"They present the cases nicely in a chronological order which makes it easy to follow."
Justice Nizamul Huq told Malum that although the prosecutor had not mentioned it, the tribunal chair had expected that the prosecutor would.
Referring to the first charge against Ghulam Azam, a meeting of certain political leaders with General Tikka Khan, on Apr 4, 1971, days after the Pakistan army descended upon the people and massacred them, Justice Huq said that most of the days following Mar 26, the entire city was under curfew. "Sure it was withdrawn at times but mostly there was a curfew."
But then he pointed out, that there was a meeting of over a dozen political leaders with the Pakistani general only meant that they were in touch with the military.
"I had expected that you would say that in your submissions. But you did not."
Shishir Manir, a junior defence counsel on Abdur Razzaq's team, stood up to point out that superior status as the prosecution had pointed out did not constitute an offence by itself. "It is merely a status."
The judges also agreed that command responsibility by way of acquiescing to crimes against humanity had to be demonstrated and superior status by itself would not suffice.
KAMARUZZAMAN'S CASE
Earlier in the day, tribunal chairman, Justice Nizamul Huq, was rather reluctant to adjourn Kamaruzzaman's case when Tanvir Ahmed Al-Amin stood up to pray for time as the defence had not been able to prepare the discharge petition.
When the junior counsel said there were a few thousand pages of documents that the prosecution had served upon the defence, Justice Huq asked back, "How many of these discharge petitions, and there have already been a few, refer to those volumes of documents?"
He said the defence only referred to the volume when praying for time but in essence the petitions were basically the same. "The same is true for the formal charges."
Justice Huq said that a large portion of the formal charges were the same for almost every case while the discharge petitions were also similar in nature except when they dealt with the particular case of the individual.
Tribunal member Judge A K M Zaheer Ahmed joked that the defence could, in fact, borrow from another discharge petition and begin.
Essentially the same team of counsels represents the Jamaat-e-Islami leadership.
Al-Amin all but agreed to the tribunal's observation that the petitions were almost the same to a large extent. But he continued to plead that the petition was simply not ready and needed more time.
Justice Huq said he could not insist that the young counsel begin his arguments, which he certainly would have had it been a senior counsel like Abdur Razzaq and reluctantly adjourned the matter to Apr 1.
JAMAAT GURU IN ICT
On Dec 12, the prosecution brought a 52-point charter of charges against Azam and appealed for his arrest. Later, following the tribunal order, charges were re-arranged and presented to the tribunal on Jan 5.
He was produced before the tribunal by it order on Jan 11 and sent to jail on the same day. Since that evening Ghulam Azam has been shifted to the prison cell of the Bangabandhu medical university for better treatment considering his delicate health.
Azam had allegedly lead the infamous 'peace committees' and collaborated with the Pakistan Army during the Liberation War. He also spoke in favour of Pakistan to the Middle Eastern countries during the war, according to the prosecution.
He stayed in London for seven years after 1971 and returned to Bangladesh in 1978 during Ziaur Rahman's rule. Having led Jamaat for long, Azam retired from active politics in 1999.
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