Jamaat leader Azharul held
Prosecution submits charges to war crimes tribunal, accusing him of mass killing in Rangpur; Jamaat terms the case 'false'
Jamaat leader Azhar waves to onlookers as he is put into a prison van after his arrest at his Moghbazar home in the capital in connection with crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War.Photo: STAR
Police yesterday arrested Jamaat-e-Islami acting secretary general ATM Azharul Islam in connection with crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War. The arrest was made just over two hours after International Crimes Tribunal-1 issued the arrest warrant. Among other allegations, the Jamaat leader reportedly had direct involvement in the killing of 1,200 unarmed Bangalees in Badarganj of Rangpur on a single day during the Liberation War. Ramna police in association with Detective Branch of Police and Rapid Action Battalion personnel arrested Azhar at his Moghbazar home around 2:00pm, Syed Nurul Islam, deputy commissioner of Ramna Division, told The Daily Star. Azhar, who hails from Badarganj of Rangpur, was taken to the DB office on Mintoo Road on security grounds, Nurul Islam claimed. Azhar had been in jail in connection with other cases since September last year but he got out on bail last Thursday, the day before the Eid holidays began. Mashiur Rahman, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Ramna Police Station, said Azhar would be produced before Tribunal-1 today (Thursday). Earlier yesterday, Prosecutor Nurjahan Begum Mukta appealed to Tribunal-1 for an arrest warrant against the Jamaat leader for “effective and proper investigation” into his alleged crimes during the war. The prosecutor said Azhar was the chief of the Al-Badr force in Rangpur and had committed murder, genocide, rape, looting and other crimes against humanity during the war. The Al-Badr was a force that collaborated with the Pakistan occupation army. It was formed mostly with members of the Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Nurjahan said, “Investigation has properly revealed evidence of his [Azhar's] involvement in crimes against humanity… “As the acting secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, the accused is a very influential person,” said the prosecutor, adding, “There is proof that the accused has been trying to destroy evidence at home and abroad to hinder the proper investigation process.” Claiming that the accused might go on the run any time, the prosecutor said he should be arrested for the sake of effective and proper investigation. In response to the prosecution petition and arguments, the three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Md Nizamul Huq, issued the arrest warrant and directed police to produce the Jamaat leader before the tribunal within 24 hours of his arrest. It also directed the authorities concerned to look after the health of the accused. Shishir Manir, a member of the defence team of detained Jamaat leaders accused of war crimes at the tribunals, told The Daily Star that the defence would seek bail for Azhar today. Abdul Hannan Khan, the coordinator of the investigation agency of the tribunals, told The Daily Star that investigations into the allegations against the Jamaat leader had already been half done. He said the investigators hoped to complete the probe within the next three months. Investigations against Azhar began on April 15 this year. THE ALLEGATIONSProsecutor Nurjahan claimed that Azhar was a student of Rangpur Carmichael College and president of Islami Chhatra Sangha of Rangpur. She said he led the formation of the Al-Badr force in the district during the war. She claimed that on a single day in mid-April 1971, around 1,200 freedom-loving Bangalees of Jharuar Beel and Padmapukur areas of Badarganj were killed and Azhar was directly involved in the mass killing. Nurjahan said Azhar was also involved in arson and looting of numerous houses in Badarganj area in cooperation with the Pakistani army. In April 1971, Azhar along with the Pakistani army, abducted a professor of Rangpur Carmichael College along with his wife and some other professors of the college. They were shot dead near Damdama Bridge in the district, said the prosecutor. Nurjahan did not mention the names of the victims or witnesses for the sake of their privacy, secrecy and the ongoing investigation. She used alphabets instead of names before the tribunal. The prosecutor said the Jamaat leader was directly involved in the killing of at least 11 people, including a prominent pro-liberation lawyer of Rangpur. The lawyer was abducted in late March 1971. He was confined to Rangpur cantonment and tortured inhumanly there, Nurjahan claimed. In April, he along with 10 others was shot dead at Dakhiganj Mahashwashan, the prosecutor went on to say. The prosecutor said the accused directly took part in the killing of the 11 people, including a nine-month pregnant woman of Dhappara, in cooperation with the Pakistani army. The accused used to visit Rangpur cantonment frequently on his motorcycle hoisting the Pakistani national flag, said the prosecutor. She said in Rangpur cantonment, the accused got involved in hatching conspiracies to kill pro-liberation intellectuals and professionals. The prosecutor claimed that the Jamaat leader regularly visited Rangpur Town Hall, which was used as a recreation centre for the Pakistani forces during the war. THE ARREST
Witnesses said a huge contingent of law enforcers from Ramna Police Station, DB and Rab arrested Azhar at 2:00pm at his flat in Moghbazar. He was brought out of the house at 2:30pm and taken to the DB office in five minutes. Before he was put into a prison van, Azhar said, "I have been arrested unjustly. Pray for me." Members of different law enforcing agencies, including Detective Branch of police and Rab, had cordoned off Azhar's home since noon. After getting the copy of the arrest warrant, the law enforcers went in, police said. Azhar was arrested in connection with being involved in a clash between law enforcers and Jamaat and Islami Chhatra Shibir men at Kakrail in the capital on September 19 last year. He was released on bail on Thursday last. Tasnim Azhar Shumon, son of Azhar, told The Daily Star that at least 11 criminal cases had been filed against his father since September 19, 2011, and he had got bail in all of them. JAMAAT'S REACTION
Jamaat acting ameer Maqbul Ahmed in a statement said, “The government arrested him [Azhar] by filing cases based on false allegations as part of a conspiracy to destroy the Jamaat-e-Islami by eliminating the party leadership.” Most of the senior party leaders are now in jail over their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the war. Former ameer Ghulam Azam, incumbent Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami and Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee, assistant secretaries general Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Abdul Quader Mollah and working committee member Mir Quashem Ali are meanwhile facing war crimes charges at the tribunals.
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