Anti-Liberation Organisations: Not even one tried till this day
Not a single anti-liberation organisation has been brought to book for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the Liberation War, as the relevant law is yet to be amended.
There's no visible move from the government to amend the law for trying organisations that collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces to commit one of the deadliest genocides in the last century.
It's quite satisfactory that the individuals who were the big war criminals have been tried. At the same time, it's quite disappointing that no initiative has been taken to try the organisations -- including the then Pakistan army high command, Jamaat-e-Islami, Razakar, Al Badr, and Al Shams -- who were directly involved in crimes against humanity and war crimes in 1971.
However, a total of 135 individuals have been sentenced to death or imprisonment by the two International Crimes Tribunals (ICTs) in last 13 years, after the formation of ICT-1. The other one, ICT-2, has been dissolved.
Besides, Appellate Division of the Supreme Court hasn't been holding hearings of war-crime related appeals for more than three years due to different reasons, including Covid-19 and shortage of judges. Around 28 such appeals are now pending.
The last such appeal hearing took place at the Appellate Division on December 3, 2019. Convicted war criminal Syed Mohammad Qaisar filed it, challenging the death penalty handed to him by a war-crime tribunal in 2014.
Two separate ICTs have so far delivered 51 verdicts, in which 96 war criminals have been sentenced to death, 26 to imprisonment till death, five to life imprisonment, and eight to imprisonment for different terms. Six of them have been executed, after the Appellate Division affirmed their death penalty, ICT sources said.
The Awami League government brought an amendment to the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act-1973 in February 2013, incorporating provisions for trying individuals only. The government has been saying necessary amendments would be made to facilitate the trial of anti-liberation organisations.
The law ministry prepared a draft to amend the law in 2014, but over the last nine years, no visible steps have been taken to pass the amendment, leaving the demand for trial unfulfilled.
Law Minister Anisul Huq on many occasions said the government was working to amend the law.
Delivering its verdict in the case against former Jamaat ameer Ghulam Azam on July 15, 2013, ICT-1 observed, "…Jamaat-e-Islami, as a political party under the leadership of accused Prof Ghulam Azam, intentionally functioned as a criminal organisation, especially during the War of Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971."
Eminent writer and war-crime researcher Shahriar Kabir said, "It's quite satisfactory that the individuals who were the big war criminals have been tried. At the same time, it's quite disappointing that no initiative has been taken to try the organisations -- including the then Pakistan army high command, Jamaat-e-Islami, Razakar, Al Badr, and Al Shams -- who were directly involved in crimes against humanity and war crimes in 1971."
Shahriar said since 2014, the law minister has been saying that the government would amend the International Crimes Tribunal Act, but no initiative has been taken.
"The number of tribunal and apex court benches must be increased to gear up the trials of war-crime cases and appeals. Only one ICT is now dealing with war-crime cases," he added. The demand for Jamaat's trial as an organisation got momentum after the Shahbagh movement in February 2013, demanding the highest punishment be handed down to war criminals and a ban on Jamaat and Shibir.
The law minister couldn't be reached for his comments on this issue as he is now abroad.
Contacted, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, said that ICT condemned some political organisations for their crimes against humanity and war crimes in 1971. But they cannot be punished, because the required provision needs to be added to do so. The government will take a decision in this regard.
Expressing satisfaction at the progress of trying war crimes so far, the attorney general said the Appellate Division will soon start hearing of war-crime related appeals as the required number of benches are present now.