'TRUTH HAS PREVAILED'
War crimes trial proponents, freedom fighters and families of martyr intellectuals have hailed the verdict against Jamaat kingpin Motiur Rahman Nizami. Truth has prevailed, they said, though it took four long decades while they painfully waited. Tamanna Khan and Wasim Bin Habib write.
Mofidul Hoque
Terming the verdict as extraordinary, Liberation War Museum trustee Mofidul Hoque said, "The tribunal was almost shocked by the diabolical nature of the criminality."
He said that observing the ferocity of these criminal acts committed by Nizami, the tribunal gave him death sentence in four charges, which shows the gravity of the charges and the brutality with which he committed the crimes.
Mofidul noted there was a lot to learn from the judgment as it explained how the convict and the political party he belonged to misused Islam and demeaned its teachings to perpetrate heinous acts.
Nasiruddin Yousuff
Freedom fighter and cultural activist Nasiruddin Yousuff Bachchu said the verdict reflected the nation's expectation.
"Nizami is responsible for the death of my fellow freedom fighters Bodi, Jewel, Rumi and Azad. He is also liable for the death of the intellectuals," said the guerilla fighter.
"This verdict has not only done justice but also established historical truths."
Zahir Uddin Jalal
Freedom fighter Zahir Uddin Jalal, who testified against Nizami, said he would be happy only when Nizami would actually hang.
Holding a symbolic hangman's knot in his hand, the guerilla fighter popularly known as Bichchu Jalal, said: "He [Nizami] is responsible for the killing of my fellow fighters Bodi, Jewel and others."
He also thanked the government for bringing the war criminals to book.
Shymoli Nasreen
Prosecution witness Shyamoli Nasreen Chaudhury expressed her satisfaction over the verdict.
"Everywhere in the world perpetrators of genocide are given death sentence," said Shyamoli.
"As the Al-Badr leader, Nizami had ordered the killing of my husband [doctor Alim Chowdhury] and other intellectuals. If his [Nizami's] death penalty gets commuted in the appeal [in the Supreme Court], then all our hopes and expectations of getting justice would be shattered."
Syeda Salma Mahmud
"We wanted the highest punishment and we got it, but I can't say whether it would be upheld after appeal by the convict," said another prosecution witness Syeda Salma Mahmud, widow of martyr intellectual doctor Azharul Haque.
"I am happy that I could at least witness the trial and the post-1971 generation would be able to know what heinous crimes Nizami and Al-Badr perpetrated," she said.
She noted the deaths of the intellectuals were not only someone's personal loss but a big loss for the nation. "The Pakistanis started the killing, targeting Dhaka University. When they were losing the war, they eliminated the country's intelligentsia.”
Salma also spoke of her fear for all the prosecution witnesses. "They [the government] keep on assuring us of giving protection but I have not seen anything effective."
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