Charge framing decision June 24

International Crimes Tribunal-2 yesterday fixed June 24 to decide on framing war crimes charges against Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan in connection with the killing of bright minds of Bangladesh at the fag end of the Liberation War.
The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Obaidul Hassan with members Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Judge Md Shahinur Islam, fixed the date after the hearing on charge framing was done.
During yesterday's hearing, Prosecutor Sahidur Rahman read out all 16 charges brought against them.
According to post-liberation newspaper reports, Mueen-Uddin, now living in London, and Ashrafuzzaman, now in New York, were two of the most wanted criminals accused of killing the bright minds of the country.
The court has decided to go for their trial in absentia.
The prosecution yesterday said Mueen-Uddin acted as Al-Badr's operation-in-charge while Ashrafuzzaman was its chief executor. They were “directly involved” in the killing of 18 intellectuals and professionals between December 10 and 15, 1971.
Among the 18, nine were Dhaka University teachers, six were journalists and three were physicians.
About the abduction and killing of eminent journalist and literary Shahidullah Kaiser, Sahidur said Kaiser was a wholehearted and active supporter of the Liberation War.
For this reason, he became the target of the Jamaat-e-Islami, its then student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha and the Pakistani army's auxiliary force the Al-Badr, said Sahidur.
Around 6:00pm of December 14, 1971, five or six armed youths led by Mueen-Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman picked up Kaiser from his Kayettuly home in the capital and he was never returned, said Sahidur.
Sahidur said when freedom fighters captured Abdul Khaleq Majumder, who was an Al-Badr member, he had confessed that Mueen-Uddin was their operation-in-charge and Ashrafuzzaman was their chief executor.
Sahidur yesterday described how the 17 other intellectuals and professionals were abducted, tortured and killed.