Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, a platform of pro-BNP lawyers, has termed a ‘farce’ the verdict of International Crimes Tribunal-1 that handed down death penalty to BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
The forum made the remarks at a news briefing at the Supreme Court Bar Association office soon after the delivery of the verdict by the tribunal on Tuesday.
However, BNP did not make any formal reaction over the verdict against Salauddin, a standing committee member of the party and a lawmaker. This was the first verdict of the international crimes tribunals against any BNP leader accused in war crimes cases.
The party refrained from enforcing a general strike in protest at the verdict as it did not want to spend energy before launching a ‘strong movement’, a senior leader of BNP told New Age on Tuesday.
The BNP also did not want to divert public attention from the current movement for a ‘non-party’ government by announcing any tough programme on issues of Salauddin, he said. He further said that BNP did not want to give an impression before the polls that it was in favour of war crimes accused.
BNP chairperson’s adviser Khandker Mahbub Hossain termed a ‘farce’ and reflection of ‘political vendetta’ the death sentence awarded to Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.
Mahbub, a Supreme Court lawyer, also said that BNP would try ‘real war crimes offenders’ and those involved in the on-going ‘farcical’ trials, if the party was voted to power. The convictions being given in ‘politically motivated’ cases would be quashed through fresh trial, he added.
He said that BNP was not against the trials of the 1971 war crimes but it did not mean that the trial would be a means of taking ‘political revenge’.
Salauddin’s father Fazlul Quader Chowdhury was detained in Dhaka Central Jail in 1972 under the Collaborators Act and at that time Salauddin was not included in the list of collaborators, he added.
He said that a High Court judge, who studied with Salauddin in West Pakistan during the Liberation War, wished to give his depositions to the tribunal to tell the fact but he was not allowed to make his deposition as defence witness.
BNP leader Moudud Ahmed said that the tribunal verdict had shocked Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum.
Moudud also termed ‘unprecedented’ the news of Salauddin’s verdict being leaked and available online, a day before the tribunal delivered its verdict.
He asked both the government and the tribunal to clear their positions about the alleged leak to make the trial process credible.
Moudud said that international standards and the customary international law were not followed in trying Salauddin.
He said that the verdict was not final and an appeal would be filed against the tribunal decision.
-With New Age input
