International Crimes Tribunal-2 yesterday allowed a prosecution petition seeking permission to bring in additional witnesses in the case against Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah.
The three-member tribunal, led by its Chairman Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, however, rejected the bail petition of war crimes sus-p e c t J a m a a t - e -1 s 1 a m i Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed.
Tribunal-2 also completed recording the cross-examination of Abdul Mannan, the fourth prosecution witness in the case against Jamaat leader M u h a rn m a d Kamaruzzaman, before adjourning proceedings of the case until August 13, when the fifth prosecution witness is expected to testify.
Meanwhile, at Tribunal-1, a witness testified and was crossed-examined in camera in the case filed against BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.
Mohammad Ali, conducting prosecutor in Quader Mollah's case, told Tribunal-2 that the investigation officer of the case had found some new witnesses who were essential for the prosecution. He sought the tribunal's permission for bringing in seven additional witnesses in the case.
After lunch, defence counsel Farid Uddin Khan urged the tribunal to hold a hearing on the prosecution petition today (Wednesday), instead of yesterday, as they were not prepared.
Justice Obaidul I iassan, a member of the tribunal, then said as per law the prosecution issued a notice upon the defence and they had filed the petition on Monday.
Farid insisted that they were not prepared and that they had to figure out strategies in this regard.
Justice Obaidul then said, “Is submitting 3,000/4,000 witnesses [in a case] your [defence] strategy?” He said there was no instance in Bangladesh of submitting such a large number of witnesses in a case.
“There is no such instance even in the world,” Judge Md Shahinur Islam, another member of the tribunal, added.
Afterward, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir passed an order allowing three additional prosecution witnesses to give their testimonies. Defence would get proper time to prepare their defence, added Justice
Kabir.
Defence counsels of detained Jamaat and BNP leaders submitted a list of 3,328 defence witnesses in Abdul Alim's case; 10,111 witnesses in Jamaat chief Nizami's case; 2,939 witnesses in Ghulam Azam's case; 1,357 witnesses in Kamaruzzaman's case; 965 witnesses in Quader Mollah's case and 1,153 in Salauddin Quader Chowdhury's case.
Earlier in the day, while moving the bail petition filed on August 2, Mojaheed's counsel Nazrul Islam said Tamanna-e-Jahan, wife of Mojaheed, had been suffering from severe back pain for the last one and a half months. She needs special care of the doctors along with family members. Only Mojaheed was capable of arranging better treatment for his wife, Nazrul claimed.
He also said that Mojaheed had been performing “Itikaf”, an Islamic practice of being on retreat in a mosque for a certain number of days, especially during Ramadan, for the last twenty years and wanted to perform Itikaf this year too.
Opposing the petition, prosecutor Mir Iqbal Hossain said Mojaheed's wife's ailing health could not be valid grounds for bail and there was no instance at home and abroad of bail being granted for performing religious riles.
Besides, Mojaheed was accused of serious offences, including killing of thousands of people, and there was no scope for granting bail considering the gravity of the crimes, added Mir Iqbal.
In the order, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir said the grounds stated in the application submitted by defence did not appear convincing. The tribunal was of the opinion that the accused was not entitled to be released on bail and accordingly the bail prayer was rejected, said Justice Kabir.
Arrested on July 29, 2010, Mojaheed has been indicted on seven charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, genocide and hatching a conspiracy to kill intellectuals during the Liberation War.
Tribunal-1 had rejected Mojaheed's bail petition twice and after Mojaheed's
case was transferred to Tribunal-2, it rejected his bail prayer yesterday.
In Kamaruzzaman's war crimes case, defence counsel Kafil Uddin Chowdhury spent 45 minutes to complete the cross-examination of Abdul Mannan and asked him over 40 questions.
On August 6, Mannan in his testimony told the tribunal that Kamaruzzaman had been involved in the killing of one Badiuzzaman during the Liberation War.
Kafil Uddin yesterday suggested that Kamaruzzaman was neither an anti-liberation activist noranAl-Badrman.
Mannan rejected defence claim saying, "It is not true.”
Replying to another question, Mannan said there was hearsay in Sherpur since 1972 that Kamaruzzaman was a commander of Al-Badr force during the Liberation War but he had not verified it.
CAMERATRIAL
A witness yesterday testified and was cross-examined behind closed doors in the case filed against BNP leader and war crimes accused S a 1 a hu d d i n Quader Chowdhury al International Crimes Tribunal-1.
The ninth prosecution witness, Parag Dhar, was recalled to testify in camera by the tribunal following a petition of the prosecution.
Parag had testified on July 26. Since many important matters were left out in his earlier deposition, prosecution filed a petition before the tribunal to bring him back, said prosecutor Zead Al Malum.
Defence counsel Ahsanul Huq Hena cross-examined him after the testimony was recorded in the one hour and 10 minute proceedings.
Apart from Malum, Chief Prosecutor Golam Arieff Tipoo and Prosecutor Sultan Mahmud Simon were present on the prosecution panel while defence counsel Fakhrul Islam accompanied Ahsanul Huq during the proceedings.
Following the order of the tribunal, both prosecution and defence were silent on the matter of the proceedings.
S a 1 a h u d d i n Quader Chowdhury is facing 23 specific charges of crimes committed against humanity during the Liberation War.