Prosecutorial fumble may foil 9th charge

Placing closing arguments on the last ninth charge in the war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdus Subhan yesterday, the prosecution admitted to have mistakenly put in the wrong date of occurrence which, the defence told The Daily Star, would act in the latter's benefit.

The charge was over atrocities Subhan-led Razakars allegedly carried out in Pabna's Betbaria and Ramnathpur villages on October 30, 1971.

Yesterday, Sultan Mahmud Simon, the case's conducting prosecutor, acknowledged that they had put November 21, 1971 in the narration in the formal charge but had the correct date in the headline.

International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 Chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan pointed out that the mistake could have been in the mention of the month and it was unlikely to be on the date.

Moreover, the prosecutors could have sought a review in seven days, as per law, following the charge framing in December last year. “..but (you) did not do that,” the chairman added.

The sole time the prosecution sought to correct it was on September 9 this year through a petition, which the tribunal rejected.

The date was correctly stated by the two prosecution witnesses, the victim's family members, who testified in June.

“It was our mistake,” Simon repeatedly stated. He told The Daily Star, “There were some problems as the case was transferred to another tribunal.” The shift from International Crimes Tribunal-1 took place in March this year for quick disposal.

On whether it could negatively influence the charge, Simon said, “There is nothing to influence it. Witnesses gave testimonies mentioning the correct date.”

Only a day before, the tribunal, expressing discontent over a lack of preparation, had asked Simon to do his homework.

That day, several mistakes in the formal charges against war crimes suspect Hasan Ali irked the ICT-1, leading it to advise Abul Kalam, the conducting prosecutor, that the “legal profession is no easy deal”.

Meanwhile, with placing of arguments on the factual aspects complete, the tribunal, hearing a petition seeking time, allowed prosecutors to place arguments on the legal aspects on Sunday.

Subhan, a nayeb-e-ameer of Jamaat, has pleaded not guilty before the tribunal to the charges including genocide committed in Pabna during the nine-month-long war in 1971.