A first in trafficking cases

In a rare move, a prosecution witness testified via video conference in a human trafficking case at the Anti-Human Trafficking Offense Tribunal in Rajshahi.

A Rohingya man -- Ahmed Hossain, 70. -- recorded his statement yesterday, in a case that was under trial since January 2021. It took around 25 minutes to record his testimony.

Earlier, the court was scheduled 85 times for recording witness statements in the last three years. But only 15 out of 24 witnesses recorded their statements so far in the case.

Helal Chowdhury, 27, accused of attempting to traffic two Rohingya women to Malaysia with fake passports, is now out on bail due to a delay in the trial. On May 26, 2019, police arrested Helal from Rajshahi.

Case document shows Helal trapped two Rohingya women with a fake promise of a better future and then confined them in Rajshahi for one and a half months.

Despite relevant provisions in the anti-human trafficking law, no witness evidence was recorded via video conferencing before. Our study showed that 68 percent from 354 cases were stuck simply because witnesses were not attending the court to testify.

— Mohammed Tariqul Islam, Country Director, Justice and Care

During that time, Helal made fake passports using false information, using documents from two local girls, according to the case documents.

As the case trial process was not progressing, the human-rights organisation Justice and Care stepped in and assisted in bringing the witness.

Besides Ahmed, there were two other Rohingya witnesses -- Fatema, 21, and Yeasmin, 20. However, law enforcers failed to trace their location in the Rohingya camp.

The court recorded the statement under the "Usage of Information and Communication Technology by Court Ordinance, 2020", according to sources.

Mohammed Tariqul Islam, country director of Justice and Care, told The Daily Star yesterday, "This is a significant advancement in the trafficking case, which is the first in the country's history."

"Recording witness testimony via video conferencing can greatly expedite the trial process for human trafficking cases, especially when many witnesses are unaware of their legal obligation to attend court and reside in remote locations," he said.

Despite necessary directives and provisions in the anti-human trafficking law, no witness evidence was recorded via video conferencing before, said Tariqul.

"Our study showed that 68 percent from 354 cases were stuck simply because witnesses were not attending the court to record their evidence," he added.