6 charges accepted

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday accepted six war crimes charges pressed by the prosecution against Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam.
Hearing on charge framing would begin on August 18, said Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, chairman of the tribunal, after taking the charges into cognisance.
The three-member tribunal also directed the prosecution to provide the defence with the formal charges, documents, witnesses' list and names without mentioning full particulars.
Azharul, 61, was a student of Rangpur Carmichael College and president of Rangpur district unit Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat during the Liberation War in 1971, according to the prosecution.
The tribunal on July 18 fixed July 24 to decide about charge-sheet acceptance after the prosecution had pressed six charges against Azharul. The charges included mass murder, rape, torture and looting committed during the war.
The tribunal however adjourned the proceeding until July 25 as it was occupied with other cases.
According to the probe report, Azharul was allegedly involved in a massacre in Rangpur where  some 1,225 people were killed in 1971.
Besides, he was allegedly involved in killing four people, abducting 17, raping one, confining 13, torturing 13 others and looting and torching numerous houses in the district.
“Upon perusal of the documents it appears that there is strong prima facie [sufficient to establish a fact or raise a presumption unless disproved] case against Azharul,” the tribunal chairman said while accepting the charges.
So, cognisance of the offences as per the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 was taken against Azharul, he added.
The tribunal yesterday directed the jail authorities to use a comfortable vehicle, if available, to ferry Azhar from Kashimpur Jail to the court.
The defence had earlier appealed for a comfortable vehicle for their client saying the accused had been suffering from back-pain and it was difficult for him to ride on the prison van.
Azhar was not brought to the tribunal as per a prayer of the defence filed on Wednesday.
Police arrested Azhar at his Moghbazar house in the capital on August 22 last year after the tribunal had issued a warrant of arrest in connection with his alleged wartime offences.
ICT-2
ZM Altafur Rahman, investigation officer of the war crimes case against BNP leader Abdul Alim, yesterday completed his testimony and the International Crimes Tribunal-2 asked the defence to complete his cross-examination in four days.
Altaf, also 35th prosecution witness in the case, started his testimony on Wednesday. He described his full investigation procedure in the case yesterday.
The investigator exhibited several documents, mainly books and newspapers, which he had seized during investigation.
Alim was indicted on 17 charges including genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 war.
At one stage of his deposition, Altaf said Joypurhat district administration being directed by the investigation agency had sent a letter about Alim's role in 1971. The letter mentioned Alim as the chairman of Joypurhat Peace Committee, an auxiliary force of Pakistani army.
After Altaf's submission, Alim's junior counsel Tarikul Islam sought a “long adjournment” citing illness of senior counsel Ahsanul Huq Hena, who usually cross-examines the prosecution witnesses.
The tribunal led by Justice Obaidul Hassan however said the defence would have to complete the cross-examination from July 29 to August 1.
“We are compelled to say this. Lawyers fall ill one day and the accused another day. If one lawyer is ill, another will perform his duty. But, you [the defence] are not doing it. This is one sort of obstruction,” said Justice Hassan.
On July 8, the tribunal fixed July 11 for recoding Altaf's testimony but had to adjourn the proceedings four times until Wednesday for illness of either the accused or his counsel.