BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s:ICT prosecutor, judge in verbal spat

BANGLADESH NEWS

Prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum and tribunal Justice Jahangir Hossain had a heated exchanged that eventually came to a stop with the intervention of the tribunal Chairman Justice ATM Fazle Kabir.
One of the Jamaat-e-Islami defence counsels, Tajul Islam, prayed that his senior Abdur Razzaq would deal with the final part of closing argument in the

war crimes case against Jamaat guru Ghulam Azam on Wednesday.

The three-judge International Crimes Tribunal-1 is in the midst of hearing the closing arguments in the Azam case and has indicated that it wants to get through it sooner rather than later.

Tajul Islam told the tribunal, set up to try crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, that senior defence counsel Mizanul Islam would argue through the day and conclude his part.

He also prayed on behalf of BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s lawyer, who was present at the court, that witness cross-examination be adjourned for the day and kept for Monday.

The tribunal appeared to have taken the prayer well but Prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum went up to oppose it. He said that the prosecution was being deprived of justice because of such delays where the witnesses had to stay in Dhaka, away from their homes, for weeks together. “This seriously prejudices our case.”

During his prayer, he mentioned Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, also indicted for war crimes, as ‘Saka’, after the first two initials of the politician’s name in Bengali, which Chowdhury disapproves of very strongly.

Chowdhury’s lawyer Ahsanul Huq stood up to protest immediately and said he had strong objections to the prosecutor calling his client ‘Saka’.

When the tribunal told the prosecutor to refrain from calling the accused in any name other than the real one, the prosecutor complained, “But they call me a lot of things inside the court and outside, my lord.”

On a previous occasion, when Salauddin Quader was present and objected in habitually voluble manner, the prosecutor had told the court, “But he calls me ‘Halum’, my lord.”

Halum is the Bengali word for the growl of tigers and lions, used mostly with children.

Justice Jahangir Hossain explained that the prosecutor should not be calling the accused in any other name. “Please be careful not to repeat it.”

The prosecutor said, “Alright I have said ‘Sorry’,” and continued on a similar vein speaking on how he faced harassment at the hands of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and his defence.

Justice Jahangir Hossain had to repeat himself to put a stop to it, and this time he did so loudly. “This should not be repeated!”

The prosecutor stopped for a second and took on a different tone. “Why can’t you stand me, my lord? You rebuke me right and left.”

Justice Hossain said, “Why would I do that? What could possibly be my benefit?!”

The prosecutor insisted that the judge was harsh on him all the time.

Justice Hossain said, “What are you saying? It is not you in particular, I cautioned everyone here that this should not be repeated.”

Prosecutor Malum kept protesting and insisted that the judge would come down heavily upon him in particular all the time.

Tribunal Chairman, Justice Fazle Kabir intervened at this point. “You may be aggrieved Mr Malum. But you cannot discuss this in the open court.”

This put a stop to the prosecutor complaining and he moved on to his argument.

The tribunal granted the defence prayer and adjourned Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s case for the day and asked the defence counsel to begin.

Mizanul Islam went through his submissions through the day drawing the tribunal’s attention to the investigator’s cross-examination where he admitted that he had no idea how ‘auxiliary forces’ were run and maintained.

The defence lawyer stressed upon this point since Ghulam Azam, as head of Jamaat’s East Pakistan (that later became Bangladesh) in 1971, is being held accountable for the actions of auxiliary forces said to have been mobilised by his party.

The defence counsel concluded his arguments saying that charges against his client were laughable and the evidence contradicted one another.

Jamaat Guru in ICT-1

On Dec 12, 2011, 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. There are 61 counts under five charges against the former Jamaat leader.

He was produced before the tribunal on Jan 11 and sent to jail the same day. Since that evening, the 90-year old former Carmichael College professor has been kept at the prison cell of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for better treatment considering his delicate health.

Ghulam Azam’s indictment hearing began on Feb 15 and the court charged him on May 13.

A former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, arguably the largest Islamist organisation in the subcontinent, Azam is allegedly among the key people who pioneered anti-liberation efforts in 1971 colluding with the Pakistani military junta of that time.

He is widely perceived to have been among core group of right-wing supporters of the Pakistani Army, who came out strongly in support of a united Pakistan.

Ghulam Azam, then chief of Jamaat, was instrumental in setting up the infamous Peace Committee at the national level. The Razakars, an auxiliary force set up mainly to actively thwart the liberation forces, are said to have been mobilised through the Peace Committees across Bangladesh.

Among the most notorious vigilante militia are the Al Badr, whose membership is said to have been mainly dominated by the Jamaat's student wing called the Islami Chhatra Sangha at that time.

The Al Badr is alleged to have spearheaded execution of the intellectual elites of Bangladesh just days before the victory on Dec 16, 1971.

Azam 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 BNP founder Ziaur Rahman's rule. Having led Jamaat for long, Azam retired from active politics in 1999.

His party remains a key ally of the main opposition BNP. Two Jamaat leaders, also behind bars for war crimes charges, have even served as ministers during the BNP's last tenure in government between 2001 and 2006, when Azam's party was part of the ruling coalition.

Azam was indicted on five charges — 61 counts — including incitement, conspiracy, planning and complicity on May 13, 2012