Part of ICT chief prosecutor office to be relocated

A portion of the Chief Prosecutor Office of the International Crimes Tribunal will be relocated, as extensive repairs to the building are needed, Law Minister Anisul Huq told The Daily Star yesterday.

The decision was made after the minister visited the office yesterday following a report of this newspaper on the dilapidated condition of the Old High Court Building (west block), which housed the office.

The report published on Friday stated that the tribunal's chief prosecutor wrote to the law ministry for a second time to immediately shift the office from the building since the century-old dilapidated building was at risk of collapse.

"Following your [The Daily Star's] report, I inquired whether my ministry got the letter. My ministry never got the letter.  Nevertheless, I went there to see the condition of the prosecutor office," said the minister, adding that he later  got the letter  brought from the registrar's office of the tribunal.

"Having seen it [the office building], I feel that major repairs need to be done. The first floor will be relocated and repair work will be done thereafter," Anisul mentioned. "I have already instructed my ministry to contact the public works department's engineer tomorrow [today] and asked to visit the site and prepare an estimate. We intend to start the work as soon as possible," he added. On Thursday morning, a portion of the false ceiling of the building, where the prosecution office is situated, collapsed, raising concern among the staff. Following the incident, the chief prosecutor wrote to the ministry to shift the office immediately.