The prosecution will submit formal charges in the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) against the Jamaat-e-Islami within a month. The organisation committed
atrocities against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
The prosecution has acquired documents and evidence to file formal charges against the Islamic party, sources in the ICT said. ICT prosecutor, Tureen Afroz, told The Independent that a team of prosecutors will fix a date this week to submit formal charges against the Jamaat. “We hope to submit formal charges against the Jamaat-e-Islami within a month, expecting the verdict by October this year,” she said. “We were awaiting verdicts against Jamaat leaders Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Ghulam Azam and Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid, who were involved in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. It will now be easier for us to prepare formal charges against the Jamaat,” she said.
“In the last three verdicts against top Jamaat leaders like Kamaruzzaman, Ghulam Azam and Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid, the ICT branded the Jamaat as a criminal organisation and the verdicts will help us in formulating charges against the organisation,” she hoped.
“It has already been proved that the Jamaat as a political party was involved in crimes against humanity during the country’s independence war,” the prosecutor said. “We do not
need many witnesses as we have enough evidence to support the formal charges. The Jamaat-e-Islami will, of course, be given an opportunity to defend itself in court,” she added.
Tureen Afroz also said that they had collected several documents from home and abroad regarding the Jamaat’s activities in 1971. The prosecution wanted to nail the Jamaat for its involvement in genocide, rape, torture, destruction of properties and for abetting the Pakistani occupation forces in perpetrating crimes during the Liberation War, she added.
On February 17, 2013, Parliament had passed the International Crimes Tribunals (Amendment) Bill, 2013, empowering the tribunals to try various organisations, alongside individuals, for crimes against humanity during the 1971 war.
Law minister Shafique Ahmed said the Jamaat was not eligible to be a political party as its leaders and members were involved in killing people and damaging public properties. “A writ petition challenging the legality of the registration of the Jamaat-e-Islami is now pending before the High Court. We hope the court will dispose of the petition soon,” he said.
The law minister had earlier said that the Election Commission could impose a ban on a political party if its ideology violated the Constitution. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had also said that the Jamaat had no right to be in the politics in Bangladesh.
Formal charges have been brought in the ICT against 12 people for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. They are: Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, Abdul Alim, Motiur Rahman Nizami, Mobarak Hossain, Chowdhury Mueen Uddin, Ashrafuzzaman Khan, Mir Kashem Ali, ATM Azharul Islam, Zahid Hossain Khokon, Abdus Sobhan, AKM Yousuf and Syed Mohammad Kaiser. Apart from this, the ICT had passed verdicts against six Jamaat leaders — Delwar Hosaain Sayedee, Abul Kalam Azad, Abdul Quader Molla, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Ghulam Azam, Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid — for their involvement in the 1971 atrocities.
The Jamaat-e-Islami opposed the Liberation War, in which three million people were killed and 2,00,000 women raped.
-With The Independent input
