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War crime case against Ghulam Azam, others withdrawn

Court Correspondent
The civil suit seeking a court order declaring Jamaat-e-Islami's iconic leader Ghulam Azam and 35 others war criminals was withdrawn yesterday by the plaintiffs.
In defence of the withdrawal of the suit, Dhaka District Chief Government Pleader (GP) Fakir Deluar Hossain said the civil court dealing with the suit has no jurisdiction to mete out exemplary punishments to the defendants, even if they were proven guilty.
"The court could have only declared them war criminals on the basis of documents submitted by the plaintiffs," said Deluar, who on government directives pursued the private litigants to withdraw the case.
The petition submitted by
SEE PAGE 7 COL 3 FROM PAGE 1 the plaintiffs to the court seeking withdrawal of the case, said the government already initiated steps to try war criminals under the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act 1973 by setting up special tribunals, and the plaintiffs considered the government efforts reasonable.
According to the international crimes act, upon conviction of a war criminal, the tribunal is supposed to sentence the convicted to any punishment proportionate to the gravity of the crime as appears to the tribunal to be just and proper, includingdeath.
Talking to reporters, Deluar said the government high ups instructed him to take necessary steps for withdrawal of the case field by three lawyers on November 13 last year against Ghulam Azam and the 35 others, following the filing of which a Dhaka court on Monday summoned the defendants to appear before it, to explain why they should not be declared war criminals.
"The government might have faced difficulties to initiate trials of the 36 defendants on chargesofwar crimes if this case continued." Deluar said yesterday.
State Minister for Law Advocate Qamrul Islam also | expressed satisfaction over the
withdrawal of the case.
"I'm happy and thank the plaintiffs as they withdrew the case keeping their confidence in the government s move to hold trials of war criminals," he told reporters in his instant reaction.
The state minister, who earlier on several occasions requested victims of 1971 not to file cases against war criminals since the government itself will be a party to holding the long due trials, also said yesterday that the public confusion about trials of war crimes will be ameliorated by the withdrawal of the suit.
He was referring to the public confusion created by filing of war crime cases by private citizens while the government is taking its time to do so, although it has been saying that it will try the war criminals and mete out exemplary punishment.
Reiterating the government's strong position for holding war crime trials, the state minister said the trial process will start soon, and all war criminals will be brought to justice gradually.
The state minister hoped that trials of top war criminals will be completed by December this year.
He also expressed astonishment over how a civil court took the case into cognisance and
issued summons on Ghulam Azam and the 35 others to appear before it.
On taking into cognisance the civil suit, filed by three lawyers - Mohammad Liton Miah, Mohammad Safayat Hossain Sajib, and Rajeeb Ahmad - -Judge Iftekhar Ahmed of the 9th Assistant Judge's Court took the matter for trial and issued the summons on Monday.
The court ordered the defen -dants to appear before it on July 20 to explain why they should not be declared war criminals for committing crimes against humanity during Bangladesh's liberation war in 1971.
The 36 defendants included Jamaat’s former ameer Ghulam Azam, its incumbent Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid, and the party's senior central leaders Abdus Subhan. AKM Yosuf, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Abdul Quader Molla, Delwar Hossain Saydee. Mir Kasem Ali, Maulana Abul Kalam' Azad. Barrister Korban Ali. and Advocate Ansar Ali. and BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.
The civil court also asked the defendants to explain why they should not be declared disqualified from contesting in elections.