Mojaheed verdict Wednesday

Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed allegedly led infamous Al-Badr force which was responsible for killing intellectuals of the land at the fag end of the 1971 Liberation War. Star file photo

A tribunal in Dhaka, which is holding trial of Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed for wartime offences, will deliver its verdict Wednesday.

Allegedly the chief of infamous Al-Badr force, the top Jamaat leader is facing seven charges which include murder, genocide and conspiracy to kill the intellectuals during the country's Liberation War in 1971.

If convicted, Mojaheed could get the death penalty.

"Prosecution and defence, we will deliver the verdict in Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed case tomorrow," Justice Obaidul Hassan, chairman of International Crimes Tribunal-2, announced.

The announcement came before the court began the day's proceeding in the war crimes case of Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan.

Mueen Uddin and Ashraf-- “absconding Al-Badr leaders”--were indicted on 11 charges of involvement in the killing of 18 intellectuals in between the early hours of December 11 and December 15 in 1971.

Earlier on June 5, the tribunal kept the Mojaheed case CAV (Curia Advisari Vult, a Latin legal term meaning verdict would be delivered anytime).

BACKGROUND

Mojaheed, a former technocrat minister of the last BNP-led alliance government, was arrested on June 29, 2010, in connection with hurting religious sentiments of Muslims.

The investigation agency, designated to probe war crimes, started investigation his alleged crimes during the war on July 21, 2010, and completed its probe in October, 2011.

Mojaheed was shown arrested in the war crimes case on August 2, 2010.

On January 16, 2012, the prosecution submitted 34 charges against him and the tribunal took the charges into cognisance on January 26.

The case was transferred to Tribunal-2 on April 25, 2012.

On June 21, 2012, Mojaheed, who was a top leader of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the student wing of Jamaat in 1971, was indicted on seven charges.

As per the indictment order, Mojaheed in October 1971 was elected provincial president of Chhatra Sangha and became the chief of Al-Badr, an auxiliary force of the Pakistan army that was especially responsible for the planned killings of the intellectuals at the fag-end of the nine-month-long war.

Al-Badr was an “action section” and “armed wing” of Jamaat and was formed mainly with the members of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the Tribunal-2 observed during the proceeding of another war crime suspect Jamaat leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman’s verdict.

As many as 17 prosecution witnesses including the investigation officer of the case testified against Mojaheed, while his younger son gave testimony as the lone defence witness.

The prosecution and the defence placed closing arguments between May 7 and June 5.

WAR TRIAL PROGRESS REPORT

The two tribunals dealing with the war crimes cases have so far delivered verdicts in five cases.

The Tribunal-1 on July 15 awarded 90-year jail to former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam for his war time offences.

The Tribunal-2 awarded expelled Jamaat leader Abul Kalam Azad and Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman death sentence and another Assistant Secretary General Abdul Quader Mollah life sentence, while the Tribunal-1 awarded Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee capital punishment.