Witness testifies on torture centre

A prosecution witness against war crimes accused Motiur Rahman Nizami yesterday told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that a batch of 2,000-3,000 Razakars were trained at Mohammadpur Physical Training College during the Liberation War.
During cross-examination yesterday, he said Razakars (auxiliary forces of the Pakistani army) were trained for 15 to 20 days at the college in Dhaka throughout the Liberation War in 1971. He could not say how many batches were trained at the college-slash-army camp.
Rustom, who was 16 years old during the Liberation War, said the college was also used as a torture camp during the Liberation War.
In his testimony on March 19, Rustom said many intellectuals, men and women were brutally tortured and killed at the college.
Testifying against Nizami, the witness had said he saw Nizami along with the then ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Ghulam Azam and war crimes accused Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed visiting the college.
Rustom's father was a security guard of the college and he resided with his family at the staff quarters.
Defence counsel Mizanul Islam yesterday cross-examined the witness.
In reply to a question, the witness said, "The trainee Razakars used to live in tents on the college ground and on the ground floor of the hostel."
He said a Pakistani colonel was in charge of the camp but he could not remember his name.
Rustom said he did not complete his primary education and that his father went into retirement in 1986.
The defence and the prosecution yesterday were locked into an altercation when the witness answered without actually comprehending a question.
Mizanul asked the witness whether he saw Nizami after the Liberation War.
“Yes, I saw him three to four months after the war began,” replied the witness.
Immediately, prosecutor Mir Iqbal Hossain said the witness did not understand the question and asked the defence counsel to make the question clear.
Annoyed, Mizanul harshly asked the prosecution not to interfere him cross-examining.
Prosecutor Altab Uddin Ahmmed then said, "Why are you shouting like this, don't be insolent."
“You are talking nonsense,” said Mizanul.
Altab then said, “What will you do? Cut my tendons off?”
“I come here neither to cut off tendons nor to slit throats. I come here to conduct proceedings,” the defence counsel said terming the prosecutor a “bloody fool”.
At this point the tribunal intervened and said, "What are you doing? What are you talking about? This is not the language of the court. Please have respect towards your colleagues."
Both sides then regretted their earlier behaviour.
The proceeding of the case was adjourned until today.
Nizami is facing 16 charges of crimes against humanity based on 16 separate incidents in which at least 601 unarmed people were killed and 31 women were raped.
At Tribunal-1, chief defence counsel for war crimes accused Jamaat leaders Abdur Razzaq yesterday began placing closing arguments on legal points in the case against former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam.
Razzaq said the prosecution could not directly link Ghulam Azam with any of the war crimes charges.
Quoting defence evidence on Ghulam Azam's meeting with Tikka Khan, Razzaq argued that the prosecution did not specify how these were crimes against humanity.
“Is it a crime to take part in a meeting with Tikka?” said the defence counsel.
Quoting prosecution's claim that Ghulam Azam hatched a plot against the Liberation War, Razzaq said the prosecution did not point out how and where the plot was hatched.
The proceeding of the case was adjourned until today.