The first-ever formal charge of war crimes was submitted to the International Crimes Tribunal on Monday against Delwar Hossain Sayedee, the detained nayeb-e-amir of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
The tribunal, better known as the war crimes tribunal, instituted on 25 March, 2010 for the trial of war crimes committed during the War of Independence in 1971, posted for July 14 the hearing of the taking of cognisance of the formal charge.
It also posted for July 14 the hearing of the petition filed by Sayedee to seek bail in the case.
It also ordered its registrar to register the formal charges.
The tribunal of Justice Nizamul Huq, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir and Judge AKM Zahir Ahmed also asked the prison authorities to produce Sayedee on July 14.
The first-ever trial of war crimes began on Monday with chief prosecutor Golam Arif Tipu submitting the formal charge.
The formal trial will, however, commence with the framing of charges against Sayedee, said the tribunal's chair, Justice Nizamul Huq, during Monday's hearing.
According to sources in the prosecution, the formal
charge pleaded for the highest punishment to be handed to Sayedee, stating that he and his accomplices committed offences under Section 3(2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973.
The chief prosecutor told reporters that charges have been pressed against Sayedee for committing offences under Section 3(2) of the Act.
The Section defines the crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, genocide and war crimes.
Tipu said that the investigators found no evidence that Sayedee had committed any 'crimes against peace' and accordingly no charge was pressed against him for that crime.
Charges have been pressed against Sayedee for all the other offences stipulated in the Section, mentioned Tipu.
During Monday's hearing, Sayedee's counsel Tanveer-Al-Amin argued that the defence counsels should be provided with the copy of the formal charge and other documents, including evidence and records, before the hearing of the taking of cognisance of the charge.
Rejecting the plea, the tribunal's chair said that the defence counsels would be provided with all documents at the appropriate time.
According the Act and the Rules of the tribunal, the defence counsels cannot get the formal charge or other related documents until the tribunal takes cognisance of the formal charge, he said.
On May 31 the tribunal ordered the prosecution to submit the formal charges against Sayedee by July 11.
According to sources in the prosecution, the formal charge was prepared after examining the 4,074-page investigation report, submitted to the prosecution by the investigation agency on May 31.
The 4,074-page report in 15 volumes — the 77-page investigation report in one volume that proposes formal charges and the 3,997-page case diary in 14 volumes — was submitted to the prosecution by investigator M Helaluddin.
According to Section 9 of the Act, the prosecution will need to furnish to the tribunal a list of witnesses intended to be produced along with the recorded statement of such witnesses or copies thereof, and copies of the documents which the prosecution intends to rely upon in support of such charges, at least three weeks before the commencement of the trial.
A list of witnesses for the defence, if any, along with the documents or copies thereof which the defence intends to rely upon, shall be furnished to the tribunal and the prosecution at the time of the commencement of the trial.
Section 16(2) reads, 'A copy of the formal charge and a copy of each of the documents lodged with the formal charge shall be furnished to the accused person at a reasonable time before the trial; and in case of any difficulty in furnishing copies of the documents, reasonable opportunity for inspection shall be given to the accused person in such manner as the tribunal may decide.'
Sayedee was arrested on 29 June, 2010 in a case filed against him for 'hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims'.
On 2 November, 2010, the tribunal ordered Sayedee's detention for his alleged involvement in war crimes in Pirojpur, his home district, where some 30,000 people were reportedly killed, and their bodies were dumped into 12 mass graves.
Moreover, at least 300 women were allegedly tortured and at least 35 houses were looted and 146 houses set ablaze, and Sayedee was involved in most of those crimes, according to the investigators.
The investigators visited Pirojpur and found evidence of murder, rape and genocide 'committed by Sayedee' in Pirojpur Sadar and Zia Nagar upazila in 1971, they said.
The investigators also found that Sayedee and another alleged war criminal had forced at least 150 Hindu businessmen and locals of Parerhat to convert to Islam with the help of the members of Parerhat's Shanti Committee (peace committee) and the Pakistani army.
Sayedee was also interrogated by the investigators at the safe house on May 12.
Apart from Sayedee, Jamaat's amir Motiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party's standing committee member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, also a lawmaker, have been detained on charge of committing war crimes, along with others.
The tribunal, however, on March 31 granted bail to former BNP lawmaker and minister Abdul Alim on certain conditions.
Nizami, Mojaheed, Kamruzzaman and Quader Molla are scheduled to be brought before the tribunal today.
Source : New Age
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