Decision on charge framing on Nov 5
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 has fixed November 5 to decide about framing charges against three war crimes accused from Bagerhat for their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971.
The tribunal led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim fixed the date after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and the defence yesterday.
The accused, Sheikh Sirajul Haque alias Siraj Master, 72, Khan Akram Hossain, 61, and Abdul Latif Talukdar, 68, who face eight charges, were produced before the court.
According to the prosecution, the trio joined the Razakar Bahini, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation army, and committed killing, mass killing, rape, looting, arson and forced conversion.
Of the eight charges, four have been brought against Sirajul alone for allegedly killing around 666 people, two against all of them for allegedly killing 47 people and two against Khan Akram and Abdul Latif on charge of converting 200 Hindus and killing a person.
Defence counsel M Sanwar Hossain while placing arguments told the tribunal that Akram and Latif were facing four out of eight charges pressed against them. He said one of the charges against his clients was forced conversion of 200 Hindus of Shakharikathi and its adjacent areas in Bagerhat at the end of July 1971.
Another charge, brought against them, was about their involvement in killing 42 Hindus of the same village on November 5.
Quoting the prosecution documents, Sanwar argued that the 42 Hindus, who were killed on November 5, were among the 200 converted Muslims. “Those 200 Hindus had been forced to follow Islamic rituals, but the prosecution have mentioned them as Hindus. If they had been following Islamic rituals, there was no point in killing them,” he added.
Sanwar claimed that Akram was only 15 in 1971, while Latif used to work at a freedom fighters' camp and was later forced to join the Razakar force.
The prosecution brought another charge against the duo for their alleged involvement in killing freedom fighter Fazlur Rahman.
The defence told the tribunal that Fazlur's daughter in an affidavit exonerated the duo from the charge in a case filed with a sessions judge's court.
Sanwar however did not submit the affidavit to the tribunal but said he would do that once it came to his possession.
Mohammad Abul Hasan, appointed by the tribunal for Sirajul, placed arguments seeking discharge of his client on September 30.
Prosecutor Syed Sayedul Haque Suman yesterday once again prayed to the tribunal to frame charges against the trio.
Earlier on September 15, the tribunal took into cognisance eight charges against the accused for their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Bagerhat in 1971.
JABBAR'S CASE
The tribunal has meanwhile recorded deposition of 13th prosecution witness Jonoprashad Paik, 62, of Phuljhuri village of Pirojpur in a war crimes case against fugitive former Jatiya Party lawmaker Abdul Jabbar.
The witness yesterday described how about 200 Hindus including him was forcefully converted into Muslims at the instruction of Jabbar in May 1971.
Jabbar, who was chairman of Mathbaria Peace Committee in Pirojpur in 1971, faces five charges for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity.
Proceeding of the case was adjourned until today.
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