Govt to appeal against acquittal of Mollah

The government has decided to appeal to the Supreme Court against the acquittal of Jamaat-e Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah of the charges of murdering hundreds of people in Keraniganj during the Liberation War in 1971, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said yesterday.
Mahbubey Alam told The Daily Star his office would soon file the appeal seeking cancellation of the acquittal of the Jamaat leader, and his conviction for the Keraniganj killings.
The chief law officer of the state, however, did not give details.
Talking to journalists, Additional Attorney General and Chief Coordinator of the war crimes prosecution team MK Rahman said they would request the apex court for expeditious hearing and disposal of the appeal to be filed against the acquittal of Quader Mollah.
He mentioned that as per Article 104 of the constitution, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court can do anything for justice.
Article 104 says, “The Appellate Division shall have the power to issue such directions, orders, decrees or writs as may be necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it, including orders for the purpose of securing the attendance of any person or the discovery or production of any document.”
The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Tuesday sentenced Quader Mollah to life in prison on five charges of committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.
The tribunal, however, acquitted Quader of the charge of murdering many people in Keraniganj.
The prosecution had brought charges saying that Quader Mollah along with his 60 to 70 accomplices on November 25, 1971 went to Khanbari and Ghatar Char villages, now Shaheed Nagar of Keraniganj, and caught two unarmed freedom fighters from the house of Mozaffar Ahmed Khan. Freedom fighters Osman Gani and Golam Mostafa were brutally murdered by charging bayonet in broad daylight.
A systematic attack and indiscriminate shooting by Quader Mollah and his gang killed hundreds of unarmed people of the two villages that day. Among them, 24 persons were named in the charge.
The prosecution, however, failed to prove this charge against Quader Mollah before the tribunal.