Tribunal in Dhaka awards death penalty to Razakar Hasan Ali

His atrocities were well-known in his locality in Kishoreganj. The nature and extent of his brutality during the 1971 Liberation War earned him the nickname “Razakar Hasan Ali Daroga”.

On a September noon in 1971, Syed Hasan Ali, a Razakar commander of Tarail thana in Kishoreganj, along with his 15-20 armed accomplices, destroyed Hindu-dominated Palpara of Shemulhati village in less than three hours.

They captured 12 Hindus and split them into two groups. Initially, Hasan shot two villagers to death while his men tied and queued up 10 others. He and his militiamen opened fire, leaving all but one dead. The surviving person fled and hid himself in a paddy field. But he was caught and killed by Hasan's men.

Before leaving Palpara around 3:30pm, Hasan and his gang left a trail of destruction. They plundered many houses and set those on fire.

Forty-four years after his notoriety, a special tribunal yesterday sentenced him to death for the act of genocide. The 68-year-old is on the run.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 said the convicted criminal can be executed either “by hanging or shooting” -- the first such order in the war crimes trials in Bangladesh.

The court, however, said the government will decide the mode of execution.

The tribunal found Hasan guilty of another act of genocide committed at Borgaon in Tarail on the night of September 27. Hasan and his accomplices cordoned off a boat on which a group of Hindus from Netrakona were going to India. They dragged the Hindu people onto their boat in Markan Bill and took them to Balongka road in Tarail.

Hasan shot three men dead and his fellow Razakars killed five other men and took away ornaments and cash from the female members of the group.

The three-member tribunal led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim, with Justice Jahangir Hossain and Justice Anwarul Haque as members, sentenced him to death for the crimes.

"All the crimes mentioned in the said two charges [charges 3 and 4] relating to genocide and crimes against humanity were massive human rights violations committed during the War of Liberation in 1971," said the court.

The fierceness of the crimes were "extremely detrimental to basic humanness" and it deserved to be evaluated as “crimes of serious gravity” intending to demean the human civilisation.

"…no punishment other than death will be equal to the said horrendous crimes for which the accused has been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt in the above mentioned two charges," added the court.

Hasan was found guilty on five of the six charges brought against him.

He got death sentence on two charges and jail until death on three other charges.

The court awarded him imprisonment for life till natural death for killing of Tofazzal at Konabhawal village; abduction and murder of Kamini Kumar Ghosh and Jibon Chakravarty at Araiura village; and killing of Rashid Ali Bepari and torching of 100 houses at Sachail village.

He was acquitted of torching and looting of seven houses of Hasan Ahmed and Sadot Ali of Sachail Purbapara village.

The court said the accused expressed no repentance for his conduct at any stage. Rather, he has been absconding to avoid the trial.

The convicted fugitive can be executed after his arrest or surrender, said the tribunal, directing the secretary of home ministry and the inspector general of police to arrest him, and if necessary, with help of the Interpol.

Six war criminals including Hasan were convicted through trial in absentia.

Hasan went into hiding in June 2013 when an investigation started against him. Also known as Hachhen Ali, he was born in Machhihata village of Brahmanbaria on August 18, 1947.

Before pronouncing the verdict yesterday, Justice M Enayetur Rahim said law enforcers were designated to ensure the arrest of the accused.

“But today we are going to deliver verdict in absence of the accused. This is frustrating for the tribunal.” If present during the trial, he could have defended himself, said Justice Rahim.

Somendra Chandra Paul, who testified on the killing of his father Upendra Chandra Paul of Palpara and 11 others in this case, said he and his neighbours are happy over the verdict.

“We'll be happier, if the razakar is caught and hanged," he said.

While the prosecution expressed satisfaction over the verdict, state-appointed defence counsel Abdus Shukur Khan said his client did not get justice as he was not involved in those atrocities.

RARE ORDER FOR EXECUTION

The tribunal said there is no specific provision relating to the mode of execution of death sentence in the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act-1973.

According to the section 368 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), when any person is sentenced to death, he/she will be hanged, the tribunal said.

But section 34A of the Special Powers Act-1974 says when a person is sentenced to death under the act, the sentence may be executed by hanging or by shooting, it said.

"So, it appears that in our jurisdiction a death sentence may be executed either by hanging the accused by the neck or by shooting him, till he is dead,” it added.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said: "It's a rare decision."

The ICT Act is "totally a different law" and the tribunal might have attempted to give a message about the grievous nature of the crimes the accused committed by mentioning the alternative, he said.

Alam said the trial court in the Bangabandhu murder case gave a similar order but it was not upheld by the Supreme Court, and the killers of the Bangabandhu were hanged.