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War Crimes Trial

6 petitions of SQ Chy rejected

Staff Correspondent
The International Crimes Tribunal yesterday rejected all six petitions submitted by BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.
Salauddin filed the petitions, including one for an order discharging him and another for bail, on different dates in
February and this month.
The three-member tribunal also fixed March 20 to pass an order whether it will frame charges against the MP from Chittagong.
The detained BNP leader, who faces 25 charges of crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971, was not produced before the court yesterday as per the tribunal's earlier decision.
Two other petitions wanted his transfer from Gazipur's Kashimpur Jail-2 to any other prison and tribunal proceedings in line with “international covenants" signed by Bangladesh.
He also filed another petition for a directive on the investigation team to provide him with a report on the status of six cases filed against him from January 29 to April 18, 1972 under the Penal Code and the Collaborators Act, 1972.
The defence had argued that the six cases would make way for "double jeopardy", meaning double trial for the same offence, which is forbidden by the constitution.
The sixth petition sought exculpatory evidence — evidence that is favourable to the defendant in a criminal trial — and investigation report with prosecution materials that were not provided to the defence.
The tribunal chairman, Justice Md Nizamul Huq, rejected all the petitions in a 45-min-long order addressing both the defence and the prosecution.
It said no room is there for "double jeopardy” as the six cases filed earlier against Salauddin have not yet been disposed of.
According to the constitution, no person can be “prosecuted and punished” for the same offence twice, the tribunal said, adding that the word “and” in the clause is inclusive, which means an offender
has to be both prosecuted and convicted.
The tribunal also said the case against Salauddin centres around serious crimes and the charges have already been taken into cognisance, leaving little ground to grant him bail.
Regarding jail transfer, the tribunal observed that it was to be decided by the prison authorities. And the defence should communicate with them in this regard.
Salauddin Quader Chowdhury is among two BNP and five Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, who are facing charges of crimes against humanity.
A JUDGE DIFFERS
AKM Zaheer Ahmed, one of the three judges at the tribunal, yesterday said the order on the petition for discharging Salauddin, should have been passed in the presence of the accused.
Justice Md Nizamul Huq rejected the petition in the absence of Salauddin because the court on March 5 decided that the accused was not required to be produced before thecourtyesterday.
“The application should be disposed of in the presence of the accused," said Zaheer Ahmed. “It is the right of the accused to hear why his appli -cation was turned down."
The discharge petition should be passed in the presence of the accused on the day of the passing of the order on charge framing, he said.
Following yesterday's proceedings, Fakhrul Islam, a defence counsel, claimed before journalists that the tribunal was supposed to pass orders on all the applications except for the one seeking an order discharging his client.
“But [the THbunal chairman] said he would pass order on all the applications including the discharge petition.”
In fact, the tribunal on March 5 had said that it would pass order on all the applications yesterday except for the
order on charge framing.
'MEANTTO DELAY
While passing the order on a petition filed by Salauddin for using international covenants in court proceedings, Justice Nizamul Huq observed that a similar application was rejected earlier in the case against Delawar Hossain Sayedee, a Jamaat-e-Islami leader detained on war crimes charges.
The tribunal chairman said the order in the case against Sayedee was quite complete, with little of ambiguity in it
Salauddin earlier submitted a similar petition before the tribunal, which had rejected the application on December 19 last year, saying the matter rested with the government, not with the tribunal.
The BNP leader's moving a same application as a review petition gave the impression that it was "absolutely motivated” and "meant to delay” the trial process, the judge said.
After the court proceedings, Fakhrul Islam told journalists that the defence differed with the tribunal chair-man's views.
“With all due respect to the tribunal, we are rejecting the comments,” said Fakhrul Islam. "We are boldly saying that this view [of the tribunal chairman] should not have been expressed in the court.”
It was the second time Salauddin Quader filed a petition to the effect that the tribunal should be guided by the international covenants signed by Bangladesh.
Another petition from the BNP lawyer seeking an investigation report was also submitted by three other accused in other cases. The tribunal rejected the applications as it did yesterday.
Salauddin Quader's bail petition filed yesterday was also his second application on the same issue.