7 years of war crimes trial
The International Crimes Tribunal was set up at the Old High Court Building on March 25, 2010.
Tribunal-2 was set up at the same building on March 22, 2012. (This tribunal is non-functional since September 15, 2015.)
Tribunal's Investigation Agency received 697 complaints against 3,503 people (Until March 21, 2017)
TRIAL OF 7 CASES GOING ON AGAINST 25 ACCUSED
Moslem Prodhan and Syed Md Hussain alias Hossain (from Kishoreganj)
Amir Ahmed alias Razakar Amir Ali, Abul Kalam alias AKM Monsur, Joynal Abedin and Abdul Quddus (from Noakhali)
Abu Saleh Mohammad Abdul Aziz Miah, Ruhul Amin alias Monju, Abdul Latif, Abu Muslim Mohammad Ali, Najmul Huda and Abdur Rahim Miah (from Gaibandha)
Liakat Ali and Aminul Islam alias Rajab Ali (from Habiganj and Kishoreganj)
Shamsul Hossain Tarafder alias Ashraf, Nesar Ali, Yunus Ahmed, Ujer Ahmed Chowdhury, and Mobarak Mia (from Moulvibazar)
Reaz Uddin Fakir (from Mymensingh)
Esahaque Shikder, Abdul Gani Howlader, Awal alias Awal Moulovi, Abdus Sattar Pyada, and Solaiman Mridha (from Patuakhali)
INVESTIGATION GOING ON
Investigation going on in 26 cases against 33 accused, including BNP top leader and former minister Osman Farruk.
Preliminary investigation is going on against Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Maqbul Ahmad and the agency is collecting information about the Pakistani prisoners of war (PoWs) and their involvement in crimes during the Liberation War.
Fugitives Total-75 (22 convicts, 53 accused up to February 23, 2017)
PROBE COMPLETED IN 14 CASES AGAINST 99 AND A PARTY
Jamaat-e-Islami
Salamat Ullah Khan, Moulavi Zakaria Sikdar, Rashid Miah, Oli Ahmad, Jalal Uddin alias Jalal Ahmed, Moulavi Nurul Islam, Md Saiful alias Sabul, Momtaz Ahmed, Habibur Rahman alias Habib Munshi, Moulavi Amjad Ali, Abdul Majid, Badsha Mia, Osman Gani, Abdus Shukkur, Md Zakaria, Moulavi Jalal, Abdul Aziz, Ramiz Hasan and Samsul Haque. (from Cox's Bazar)
Rezaul Hauqe alias Akkas Moulvi, Badaruzzaman alias Chand Kazi, ABM Yunus Ali, AKM Yusuf Ali alias Yusuf Alam, Omar Faruk alias Omar Ali, Nasiruddin alias Kalu, AKM Belayet Hossain, and Ismali Hossain. (from Jamalpur and Mymensingh)
Hedayet Ullah Anju and Sohrab Fakir (from Netrakona)
Abdul Aziz alias Habul, Abdul Mannan alias Monai, and Abdul Matin (from Moulvibazar)
Abdul Jabbar Mondal, Jachijar Rahman alias Khoka, Abdul Wahed Mondal, Montaz Alia Bepari alias Momtaz, and Ranju Miah. (from Gaibandha)
Khan Ashraf Ali, Khan Akram Hossain, Sultan Ali Khan, Rustam Ali Mollah, Edris Ali Mollah, Moksed Ali Didar, Sheikh Mohammad Ukil Uddin, Sheikh Edris Ali, Rafiqul Islam alias Babul, Moniruzzaman Hawlader, Hashem Ali Sheikh, Azhar Ali Sikder, Mokbul Mollah, and Abdul Ali Mollah. (from Bagerhat)
Abdul Khaleq Mandol, Abdullah Al Baki alias Abdullah Hel Baki, Khan Rokonujjaman and Jahirul Islam alias Jahirul Haque (from Satkhira)
Muhamed Shahidullah (from Comilla)
Khalilur Rahman Mir alias Khalilur Rahman, Md Samsuzzaman alias Abul Kalam, Mohammad Abdullah, Mohammad Abdul Malek Akand alias Abul Hossain, and Md Rois Uddin Azadi alias Akkel Ali and six others (from Mymensingh).
Akmal Ali Talukder, Abdun Nur Talukder alias Lal Miah, Anis Miah and Abdul Musabbir Miah (from Moulvibazar)
MA Hannan, Rafique Sajjad, Khandakar Golam Sabbir Ahmed, Mizanur Rahman Mintu, Hormuj Ali, Mohammad Abdus Sattar, Mohammad Fakruzzaman, and Khandakar Golam Rabbani (from Mymensingh)
Abdur Rahman, Sheikh Mohammad Abdul Majid, Abdul Khaleq Talukder, Kabir Khan, Mohammad Nuruddin and Salam Begh (from Netrakona)
Khalilur Rahman, Azizur Rahman, Ashak Ali and Shahnewaz (from Netrakona)
FIRST JUDGMENT
January 21, 2013
Death penalty for Abul Kalam Azad aka Bachchu Razakar
OUTRAGE EXPLODED OVER VERDICT February 2013
Tribunal handed Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah life sentence triggering mass outrage and country saw rise of Gonojagoron Mancha that spread across the country from Shahbagh. People’s demand forced the Jatiya Sangsad to amend the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act-1973 to allow the government challenge the verdict at the Supreme Court. The SC handed down death penalty for Quader Mollah, also known as Butcher of Mirpur.
JAMAAT-SHIBIR MAYHEM OVER VERDICT MARCH 2013
Following the tribunal's verdict of death sentence on Delawar Hossain Sayedee on February 28, 2013, activists of Jamaat and its student body Islami Chhatra Shibir resorted to violence across the country, leaving at least 65 people dead and several hundred injured in just one week.
GHULAM AZAM; DESERVES DEATH, GETS 90 YEARS
On July 15, 2013, Ghulam Azam, former Jamaat ameer who masterminded the atrocities committed during the Liberation War, was sentenced to 90 years in prison although, the tribunal said, he deserved the gallows. He was given prison terms due to his old age.
FIRST EXECUTION
DECEMBER 12, 2013
Quader Mollah was first to walk the gallows for committing crimes against humanity 42 years ago.
HANGED, TOGETHER
NOVEMBER 2015
BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed walk separate gallows at the same time on November 22, 2015
LAST EXECUTION
SEPTEMBER 2016
Mir Quasem Ali, considered by many as the Jamaat’s money man was hanged on September 3, 2016.
CONTROVERSY OVER TRIAL
The trial of the perpetrators of 1971 crimes drew criticism after the Skype scandal, leakage of draft of a war crimes verdict, defence witness going missing from tribunal's gate and contempt proceeding against several eminent persons.
Justice Nizamul Huq, the then chairman of Tribunal-1 resigned in December 2012 after Bangla daily Amar Desh published an alleged Skype conversation between him and Ahmed Ziauddin, an expatriate Bangladeshi.
On October 1, 2013, soon after the pronouncement of the verdict in the war crimes case against Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, his wife and family members showed “a copy of the verdict” to newsmen and claimed that it was leaked.
Later, tribunal authorities said part of the draft verdict was leaked and a Dhaka Court in September last year jailed a lawyer of Salauddin and four others over the leak.
Shukho Ranjan Bali, originally a prosecution witness in the case against Delawar Hossain Sayedee who later changed sides to testify for Sayedee, was allegedly abducted from the gate of the war crimes tribunal .
David Bergman, a Dhaka-based British journalist and Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Zafrullah Chowdhury, among others, faced contempt proceeding for their write-ups and statements over the trial.
The Supreme Court on March 27 last year convicted Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq and fined them Tk 50,000 each for contempt of court through contemptuous and derogatory comments about Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.
The ministers faced contempt proceeding after they criticised the CJ, after the top judge of the country expressed dissatisfaction over the “poor performance” of the prosecutors and investigators of war crimes tribunal in dealing with the case against Mir Quasem Ali.
Compiled and edited by Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary and Robin Gazi