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Kamaruzzaman too seeks retrial

Verdicts on retrial petitions of Ghulam Azam, Nizami, Sayedee today

Staff Correspondent
The series of retrial petitions of war crimes accused Jamaat-e-Islami leaders continued yesterday with Muhammad Kamaruzzaman filing a petition to reinitiate his crimes against humanity case.
Tajul Islam, one of Kamaruzzaman's counsels, told reporters that they filed the 174-page petition through the registrar's office of the tribunal.
AKM Nasiruddin Mahmud, registrar of the tribunal,
told The Daily Star that the International Crimes Tribunal-2 might fix a date for hearing the petition today.
Kamaruzzaman was indicted by the Tribunal-2 with seven charges of crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War. Fifteen prosecution witnesses have so far testified in the case against the Jamaat assistant secretary general.
The flurry of retrial petitions began after an alleged Skype conversation between former Tribunal-1 chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq and expatriate legal expert Ahmed Ziauddin was published by a Bangla daily in December last year.
On December 11, Justice Nizamul stepped down citing personal reasons.
Former Jamaat ameer Ghulam Azam, incumbent Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami and Nayeb-e-Ameer Delawar Hossain Sayedee filed similar petitions with the Tribunal-1 that fixed today for passing orders on those.
Tajul said they were preparing the retrial petitions for cases of three other accused -- Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Abdul Quader Mollah and Abdul Alim — pendingwithTHbunal-2.
He said from the Skype and email conversations, they had ascertained that "the formal charges of all first eight cases pending with the two tribunals were prepared by Ahmed Ziauddin and his associates and came from Brussels on which the cases advanced”.
In the retrial petitions of the Jamaat trio, their counsels, however, claimed the indictment orders against their clients had “come from
abroad".
About the allegation, AKM Saiful Islam, conducting prosecutor of Kamaruzzaman's case, told The Daily Star, "I myself prepared the formal charges. Their [defence's] allegation is totally baseless.”
Tajul said, “We don't find direct involvement of any judges of Tribunal-2 [with Skype conversation] as we found the involvement of [Tribunal-1 former chairman] Justice Nizamul Huq.
“We mentioned [in the petition] that the proceedings of the cases advanced through a scandalous process; there may be no actual biasness, but there was an appearance of biasness. So we filed the petition for reinitiating the case,” Tajul added.
He told The Daily Star they had filed the petition under section 46 (A) of the rules of procedure of the international crimes tribunal.
Section 46 (A) says: "Nothing in these rules shall be deemed to limit or otherwise affect the inherent power of the tribunal to make such order(s) as may be necessary to meet the ends of justice or to prevent abuse of the process."
Saiful Islam said, “This petition has no rationality. They have filed the petition to kill time for delaying the proceedings.”
Meanwhile, the International Crime Tribunals-2 yesterday completed recording cross-examination of Beauty Khanam, eighth prosecution witness in the case against Abdul Alim, a former minister of BNP founder late president ZiaurRahman'scabinet.
Ahsanul Haq Hena and AEM Khalilur Rahman,
Alim's counsels, cross-examined Beauty, daughter of a martyr subeder major, before the case proceeding was adjourned until January 15.
On November 22, Beauty testified that Shanti [Peace] Committee and Razakar men upon Abdul Alim's order had killed her father in Joypurhat for fighting against the Pakistani army.
She had earlier faced cross-examination on several days but not for long on each occasion.
At one stage of yesterday's cross-examination, the witness expressed discontent over Hena when he repeated the same questions he and his colleagues had asked her earlier.
“You [Hena] are making repetition again and again. You are playing a farce in the name of cross-examination," said Beauty.
The tribunal asked the defence to decide among themselves who would ask what questions.
Meanwhile, the tribunal extended time until January 14 for Suranjit Sengupta, a minister without portfolio, to explain his "imaginary comment" on the date of verdicts in the cases pending with the tribunal.
The tribunal fixed the new date as Suranjit's counsel Abdul Baset Majumder sought time for preparation.
On December 24, the tribunal on its own motion issued the show-cause notice on Suranjit following a report in a Bangla daily. Suranjit was quoted in the report as saying, “Verdict of 14 identified war criminals has already been finalised. Trial of these 14 war criminals would be completed anytime within 2013."