War Crime Case against Edris: Verdict any day
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 will deliver verdict any day in a case filed against Edris Ali Sarder alias Gazi Edris from Shariatpur, who is facing four charges of crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the 1971 Liberation War.
The three-member tribunal led by justice Anwarul Haque with members Justice Md Shahinur Islam and Md Shohrowardi kept the case waiting for delivering verdict after both the prosecution and defence counsel completed closing arguments.
Wrapping up their arguments, Prosecutor Hrishikesh Saha sought capital punishment for Edris, 67, who is on the run, saying that they have been able to prove all the charges while state-appointed defence counsel Gazi MH Tamim said the prosecution could not prove any of the charges and sought his acquittal.
On May 2, the tribunal framed four charges against Edris Ali and Sulaiman Mollah, 84, of Kashipur Muslimpara in the district. But Sulaiman died of old age complications at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on October 25.
According to the prosecution, Sulaiman was a Muslim League leader who in 1971 formed the Peace Committee and Razakar Bahini in Shariatpur. Edris was a leader of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, and joined Razakars.
CHARGES
The first charge says Sulaiman and Edris, along with 100 to 150 Pakistani troops, attacked Angaria, Kashabhog, and Modhyapara in Palang upazila (now Shariatpur sadar) on May 22, killed 200 Hindus and one Abdus Samad Sikder, and looted and burnt all the houses.
The next day the accused, along with 100 Pakistani army men, attacked Malopara and Rudrakar villages and shot dead a priest before looting and burning all the houses, says the second charge.
They forcibly took around 20 women and 10 to 15 men from the villages to a Pakistani army camp in Madaripur, where the women were raped for three days before being released and the men shot dead, it adds.
According to the third charge, the duo along with eight to 10 Pakistani army men attacked and looted the home of one Shailendra Krishna Paul in June and killed two Hindu guards.
The fourth charge says, the accused and the Pakistani army intimidated around 1,500 people into leaving Bangladesh between March 25 and December 10.
MOULVIBAZAR CASE
Meanwhile, the tribunal yesterday fixed December 8 to decide whether it will frame charges brought against five Moulvibazar men for crimes they allegedly committed during the Liberation War.
It set the date after the prosecutor and defence counsel placed their submission on charges.
Of the accused, Yunus Ahmed, 71, and Ujer Ahmed Chowdhury, 63, are in jail, while Samsul Hossain Tarafder, 65, Nesar Ali, 75, and Mobarak Mia, 66, are on the run. They hail from Rajnagar upazila.