Jamaat calls day-long hartal today, activists go on the rampage, blast bombs and vandalise vehicles
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 will deliver the much-awaited verdict against former ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, Prof. Ghulam Azam, on Monday.
The three-member tribunal, headed by its chairman, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, announced the date on Sunday, 88 days after proceedings ended in the case, on April 17.It would be the fifth judgement from the two International Crimes Tribunals (ICT), against the suspects of crimes against humanity, after the verdicts against Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar (January 21, 2013), Abdul Quader Molla (February 5, 2013), Delwar Hossain Sayedee (February 28, 2013), and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman (May 9, 2013).
Azam, 91, has faced 61 charges of crimes against humanity, allegedly committed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
As the news of Ghulam Azam verdict spread through the country, Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir called for a daylong nationwide hartal on Monday while the activists of the two organizations went on a rampage in different parts of the capital vandalizing vehicles and damaging private property.
Senior defence counsel barrister Abdur Razzaq requested the tribunal not to bring Azam to the tribunal on Monday, considering his age, but the tribunal turned down the plea, saying it is the accused person’s right to hear the verdict about him.
Regarding the upcoming judgement, prosecutor Zead Al Malum said this is a verdict the nation had been waiting for a long time.
“Ghulam Azam was the mastermind behind all the killings and criminal activities that took place during the Liberation War. He was the ring leader of all anti-Liberation elements. Atrocious crimes like murder, genocide, rape, conversion, pillage and arson took place at his behest,” he said.
“We were able to prove all allegations against him beyond any reasonable doubt. We expect maximum punishment—death penalty—for him. It is also the desire of countrymen,” he said.
Azam was the ameer of the East Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami in 1971, Malum said, he was the only Razakar who observed the destruction of March 25.
“Later, he along with his accomplices met Tikka Khan, and expressed his support to him. Azam with the members of Jamaat-e-Islami and its former student wing, Islami Chhatra Sangha (ICS), formed Razakar and Al Shams. He cannot evade his superior commanding responsibility in any way,” he added.
With regards to the age of Azam, the prosecutor said it could not be a considerable factor to ensure fair justice. “We’re seeking the punishment of that Azam who was more than 40 when the crimes took place in 1971.”
Conversely, barrister Razzaq said Azam had no involvement in any crime. “Prosecution has completely failed to prove any allegation against him and, hopefully, he would be released of all charges in any way,” he added.
With regards to the age of Azam, the prosecutor said it could not be a considerable factor to ensure fair justice. “We’re seeking the punishment for that Azam who was more than 40 when the crimes took place in 1971.”
Conversely, barrister Razzaq said Azam had no involvement in any crime. “Prosecution has completely failed to prove any allegation against him and, hopefully, he would be released of all charges tomorrow,” he said.
A total of 61 charges in five categories of crimes against humanity were brought against the 91-year-old Jamaat veteran.
The allegations were categorised as conspiracy (six charges), planning (three charges), incitement (28 charges), complicity (23 charges), and murder (one charge).
Conspiracy (six charges): Ghulam Azam, along with others, met Lt Gen Tikka Khan on April 4, 1971. During this meeting, he planned and decided the means to enforce the evil designs of the Pakistani occupation force.
He and several other political leaders again met Tikka Khan on April 6, 1971, at the Governor’s House, as part of their conspiracy.
He took part in a meeting, as a member of the ‘Peace and Welfare Steering Committee’ on April 14, 1971, and pledged to protect the unity of Pakistan. Azam for the third time took part in a high-level meeting in continuation of the conspiracy on June 19, 1971.
Azam also met then president of Pakistan, General Aga Mohammed Yahiya Khan, at Rawalpindi, and informed him of the latest situation of East Pakistan. As part of the continuing conspiracy, Azam also met the Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Syed Abul Ala Moududi, on June 6, 1971.
Azam took part in a 70-minute long conspiratorial meeting with Yahiya Khan at Rawalpindi, where he discussed the overall situation in East Pakistan, on December 1, 1971.
Planning (Three charges): Azam and others planned to form an organisation named ‘Nagorik Committee’, to assist the Pakistani forces, on April 4, 1971. He placed this plan before Lt Gen Tikka Khan on the same day. He and others fixed the manner of ‘Shanti Committee’, and nominated Khawaja Khayer Uddin as the convener of the committee, on April 9, 1971.
He participated and took decisions in a planning meeting on May 4, 1971, regarding the formation of ‘Shanti Committee’ units at different unions of Dhaka city.
Incitement (28 charges): Azam, as ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, along with other fellow party leaders, issued a joint statement on April 7, 1971, urging people to destroy the ‘Bharotiyo onuprobeshkari’, meaning Hindus and supporters of Awami League.
He delivered an inciting speech at Radio Pakistan on April 10, 1971. Apart from that, he also held a series of meetings and delivered speeches to instigate people to carry out atrocities against the pro-Liberation Bangladeshi people.
Complicity (23 charges): Azam was the part of a 12-member team, consisting of Nurul Amin, Maulavi Farid Ahmed, Khawaja Khayer Uddin, AKM Shafiqul Islam, Maolana Nuruzzaman, Hamidul Huq Chowdhury, Mohsinuddin Ahmed, advocate AT Sadi and others.
They met Tikka Khan on April 4, 1971. Azam offered ‘purno shohojogitar ashwash’ (assurance of full cooperation) to the Pakistan Army that demonstrates his complicity in all subsequent crimes committed in East Pakistan. He was also involved in 22 more such allegations.
Murder (one charge): A total of 38 people including sub-inspector of police, Siru Miah, and his son, Anwar Kamal, were brutally tortured and killed at Brahmanbaria, on Azam’s direct instruction.
Siru Mia and his son were captured by the Razakars on October 27, 1971, at Kasba upazila, while trying to cross over to India.
Razakars tortured them in their camp and later sent them to Brahmanbaria prison. Siru’s wife met Azam and requested him for their release. But Azam wrote a letter to Peyara Mia, a member of Brahmanbaria Shanti Committee, instructing him to kill Siru Mia and his son.
On his instruction, the Pakistani army, in cooperation with Razakars and Al Badr, took away 39 people from the prison, including Siru Mia and his son, on the night of Eid that year. They killed them near Pairtola bridge at Brahmanbaria town, while one escaped the killing.
The enquiry against Azam was started by the investigation agency on July 15, 2010, and ended on October 31, 2011.
The prosecution submitted formal charges against Azam on January 5, 2012, implicating him in 62 allegations of crimes against humanity.
The tribunal took the charges into cognizance and issued a production warrant against Azam on January 9. It sent him to jail on January 11, rejecting his bail petition.
Advocate Zead Al Malum, advocate Sultan Mahmud Simon, and barrister Tureen Afroz were the leading prosecutors against Azam, while barrister Razzaq, advocate Mizanul Islam, and advocate Tajul Islam appeared for Azam, during the proceedings.
Azam allegedly played a crucial role in the formation of Shanti Committee (the so-called peace committee that assisted Pakistani occupation forces against innocent Bengalis, in 1971), Razakar, Al Badr, and Al Shams militias (auxiliary forces that collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces).
It also alleged that Azam instigated Jamaat activists to commit crimes against humanity, at a party meeting in Dhaka on May 2, 1971.
He expressed his support to the March 25 crack-down on Bengalis, at the residence of Abul Quashem, the member of Pakistan National Assembly, on May 17. Terming the pro-Liberation fighters as ‘traitors’, Azam expressed his solidarity with the Pakistani forces, in different public meetings throughout 1971.
He lived in Pakistan and England, until he returned to Bangladesh on a temporary visa, in 1978, citing to see his ailing mother.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami has called for a daylong hartal across the country Monday as the International Crimes Tribunal is set to deliver its verdict in the case against the party’s former Ameer Prof Ghulam Azam for committing crimes against humanity.
The hartal call came hours after the ICT-1 fixed the date for pronouncement of the verdict on Monday. Islami Chhatra Shibir extended its support to the hartal.
Jamaat-e-Islami acting secretary general Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan announced the programme beginning at 6:00 am on Monday through a press release issued on Sunday.
Ghulam Azam, now 91 years old, was indicted on five charges including involvement in murder and torture of unarmed people, conspiracy, planning, incitement and complicity to commit genocide and crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation.
Earlier, Jamaat-e-Islami enforced separate hartals on the days of verdicts of top leaders Abdul Quader Mollah, Maulana Delwar Hossain Saydee and Muhammad Quamaruzzaman.
As the news of the imminent Ghulam Azam verdict spread through the capital, Jamaat-Shibir activists staged demonstrations in different areas including Purana Paltan, Kakrail and Malibagh. They also vandalised several motor vehicles and set fire to a car.
Ambulance, hospitals, pharmacies and vehicles carrying journalists will remain out of the purview of hartal, said the statement.
Meanwhile, the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir on Sunday torched and vandalised a number of vehicles in Paltan, Kakrail and Bijoynagar areas in the city. An intense clash also broke out in Chittagong between police and Jamaat-Shibir activists. All these clashes took place on the eve of Monday’s hartal called by the Jamaat.
In Bijoynagar, unruly Jamaat-Shibir activists set ablaze a police microbus and vandalised other vehicles soon after the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 fixed July 15 as the date to declare a verdict in the war crimes case against former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam.
Some Shibir activists allegedly torched a police microbus and a motorcycle in the capital’s Paltan area at about the same time.
Mehedi Hassan, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Motijheel Division, told The Independent, “Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Paltan Police Station, sub-inspector Rakib Hasan and sub-inspector Nafiz Hossain sustained injuries when some Jamaat-Shibir men set fire to the microbus at the Paltan intersection at around 2:15pm.”
Assistant sub-inspector Rafiqul Islam also came under attack in Bijoynagar as the attackers tried to set his motorcycle on fire and burned it. A homemade bomb was reportedly exploded in the area at around the same time.
The injured police officials are undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
A group of men suddenly set fire to the microbus. Startled by the sudden attack, the policemen inside the microbus ran for safety. Moments later, the group of Jamaat-Shibir activists intercepted Alamgir Hossain and beat him up.
On receiving information, two units of the fire service and civil aviation division rushed to the scene and doused the flame.
Golam Sarwar, officer-in-charge of Paltan Police Station, said they had already started raids to nab the people responsible for the vandalism and violence. Additional law enforcers were deployed in Bijoynagar and Paltan areas to avert further untoward situations.
Meanwhile, Abu Ala Iqbal (45), Jamaat ameer of the Tejgaon Industrial area, Abu Ala Iqbal, was stabbed by some unidentified miscreants and succumbed to his wounds.
Dhaka metropolitan (North) Shibir secretary Faisal Mahmud told The Independent, “Police arrested Iqbal from a procession of Jamaat-Shibir in Mohakhali. He was later set free. At that time, some youths stabbed him and fled the scene at once, leaving him seriously injured. He succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital.”
Tejgaon Industrial police station officer-in-charge Mahmudul Hasan said that he didn’t know anything about the incident.
In Shahjadpur, a group of 20-25 Chhatra Shibir activists brought out a sudden procession and vandalised several vehicles in the area. They also hurled creude bombs at a car of the Rapid Action Battalion in front of Suvastu Nazar Valley.
Police opened rubber bullets to take the situation under control, leaving five people injured.
In Moghbazar, Shibir activists exploded at least five bombs near the Wireless rail gate area. No one has been arrested in this regard.
Two crude bombs exploded at the Malibagh intersection, while Jamaat-Shibir activists brought out two brisk processions in and around the Tejgaon Industrial area.
In Chittagong, a clash took place between police and Jamaat-Shibir activists at Station Road area under Kotowali police station on Sunday evening. Five Jamaat-Shibir activists were picked up from the spot.
The Jamaat-Shibir activists tried to bring out a procession in the area at around 6 pm. The activists started throwing brickbats at the police, when the law enforcers tried to obstruct them.
Utpal Barua, second officer of Kotowali Police Station, confirmed the news. “When a team of patrol police tried to resist the Jamaat-Shibir activists, they attacked the police team,” he said.
“On receiving information, more police teams rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control,” he added.
He told The Independent that the Jamaat-Shibir activists had vandalised some vehicles and torched a police motorbike.
AKM Mohiuddin Selim, officer-in-charge of Kotowali Police Station, said that a policeman was injured during the clash.
-With The Independent input
