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War Crime

Govt to follow trial procedures abroad

High-level meeting today to select prosecutor, IO
M Abul Kai am Azad and Hasan Jawd Tusher
The government would follow the procedures of already held trials of various war crimes committed in different countries and incorporate some of the good sides while trying the 1971 war criminals, officials say.
The law ministry, which is going to take the lead in this regard, will also go through the tribunals, under which some of the war criminals have been tried and some are underway to make the 1971 war crimes trial fair and acceptable.
An investigation team headed by a senior Criminal Investigation Department (CID) official will be formed soon to launch a probe into the genocide committed during the Liberation War in 1971 and detect those who were Involved in murders, plundering, rape and arsons.
The investigators will include members from different law-enforcement and intelligence agencies. The people, who have been raising voices for the trial, including some prominent figures in the War Crimes Fact-finding Committee and Sector Commanders Forum might be in the team, the home ministry officials inform.
Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial committee will sit for its second meeting on war crimes trial today to take crucial decisions like appointment of a chief investigation officer (CIO) and public prosecutor (PP) and formation of tribunal.
The home ministry will deal with the first two issues and the law ministry with the third one.
Besides, the liberation war affairs ministry will assist the two ministries by providing necessary documents and evidence related to war crimes during the nine-month War of Liberation in Bangladesh in 1971.
Asked about the issues of the meeting, Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder said, "We are going to discuss the process of trial at tomorrow's meeting."
"The appointment of public prosecutor will also be decided at the meeting," he toldThe Daily Star.
The first meeting took place on March 25 with Home Minister Sahara Khatun in the chairand ended inconclusive.
Meanwhile, the home ministry will take precautionary measures to avert any possible unrest or chaos in the country with the start of war crimes trial. "We are keeping constant vigilance so that no quarters can create any untoward incident," said the home secretary, responding to a query.
The United Nations has offered Bangladesh assistance to help trial of the war criminals. The local office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has also named four international experts with experience in war crime trials. Their profiles have been submitted to the law ministry.
The government has also taken initiatives to ask Pakistan and the US, which supported Pakistan during the Liberation War, to provide Bangladesh with particular war-related documents and evidence for the trial.
The requests are being made under the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act, 1973.
Pakistan in particular will be requested to send information regarding the Razakras [the collaborators of the erstwhile Pakistani occupation forces in Bangladesh], say the officials.
Earlier, an initiative to prosecute war criminals was called off after the 1975 bloody regime change following the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family.
Some three millions civilians were killed by the erstwhile Pakistani occupation forces and their collaborators in 1971, while about 200,000 women were violated, and tens of thousands of homes were torched and plundered.