Verdict not acceptable
The verdict on war crimes convict Abdul Quader Mollah did not reflect their expectations, said the prosecution witnesses and victims in their primary reaction.
They also expressed their frustration and dissatisfaction saying it was not people's verdict, and claiming that justice was not done in the judgement.
SHAFIUDDIN MOLLAH
“Quader Mollah should be hanged for several times for his role during the Liberation War,†said victim of the war crimes convict Shafiuddin Mollah.
Shafiuddin, also the sixth prosecution witness, said war crimes accused Jamaat leader Mollah had directly taken part in the killing of 360-370 Bangalees at Alubdi village in Pallabi of Dhaka on April 24, 1971.
“If Bachchu Razakar [Abul Kalam Azad] could be handed down capital punishment, Quader Mollah should be hanged several times for what he had done during the Liberation War in 1971,†he added.
Shafiuddin Mollah, who lost his uncle in the killing spree, questioned how the tribunal could give this verdict.
“The verdict was not right and up to our expectations,†he said.
KHONDAKER ABUL AHSAN
Khondaker Abul Ahsan, the fifth prosecution witness of the war crimes case against Mollah, said, “None of us is happy with the verdict.â€
Ahsan, son of journalist, litterateur and lawyer Shaheed Khondaker Abu Taleb, in his deposition before the International Crimes Tribunal-2 said Quader Mollah and his accomplices had killed his father during the Liberation War.
“He [Quader Mollah] was directly involved in mass killing including the killing of my father,†Ahsan said.
He, however, expressed the hope that something good would happen in the Appellate Division.
SYED SHAHIDUL HAQUE MAMA
“Justice was not done,†said Syed Shahidul Haque Mama, a freedom fighter and the second prosecution witness in the case.
Shahidul said he had come all the way from Sweden to give deposition in the case driven by his conscience.
“The crimes committed by Quader Mollah were severe. I thought he would be handed down capital punishment,†Shahidul said, adding, he got no word to express his frustration.
He, however, said the tribunal did not show biasness.
Shahidul, also chief of Mama Group Guerrilla Bahini, gave deposition on July 10, 2012. He flied in from Sweden last week to see the verdict.
QUAZI ROSY
Poet Quazi Rosy, a prosecution witness in Mollah's case, said she was frustrated by the verdict.
“It's not people's verdict,†Rosy, a close friend and neighbour of pro-liberation poet and martyr Meherun Nesa, told The Daily Star in her reaction.
According to yesterday's verdict, Mollah incurs criminal liability for complicity in commission of the murder of Meherun Nesa and her mother and two brothers at their house in Mirpur during the Liberation War.
Rosy demanded highest punishment of Mollah by disposing off the appeal as soon as possible.
“Then the departed soul of Meherun Nesa will finally be at peace and the nation will get rid of the stigma,†she said.
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