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War Crimes Trial

Counsel for Mollah places arguments

Staff Correspondent
The defence of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdur Quader Mollah yesterday claimed that most of the prosecution witnesses were hearsay witnesses, who could not name sources of their information.
Abdur Razzaq, chief of
the defence, told the International Crimes Tribunal-2 this during the closing argument of the case yesterday.
Citing examples of war crimes cases from abroad, Razzaq placed his submission on five charges and argued why the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses do not carry any probative values.
On May 28, 2012, the tribunal indicted Mollah with six charges of crimes against humanity and 12 prosecution witnesses, including two investigation officers of the case, gave their testimonies supporting the charges.
During their arguments, the prosecution claimed five "eyewitnesses" had given their testimony in favour of the charges number four, five and six. Four other “hearsay" witnesses testified charges one, two and three, and another witness partly witnessed the incident mentioned in the fourth charge.
Razzaq, also a Jamaat assistant secretary general, almost completed his arguments yesterday, while defence counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafder would place argument on factual matters on next date, Farid Uddin Khan, Mollah's another counsel, told The Daily Star.
The three-member tribunal headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan with members Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Judge M Shahinur Islam adjourned the proceeding until January 13.
According to the second charge, Mollah and his cohorts had killed proliberation poet Meherun Nesa, her mother and two brothers at their house in Mirpur during the Liberation War. Razzaq spoke about charge-1 on Tuesday.
Syed Shahidul Haque Mama, second prosecution witness, testified, "On March 27, 1971, Abdul Quader Mollah, Hasib Hasmi, Abbas Chairman, Akhter Gunda, Nehal and many others killed poet Meherun Nesa, her broth-ers and mother and chopped their bodies into pieces.”
Razzaq said, “Mama is a hearsay witness and un-attributable.”
Quazi Rosy, a close friend of Meherun Nesa and fourth prosecution witness, testified, “On the evening of March 27,1 got information that Quader Mollah and his accomplices wearing red and white bandanas entered Meherun's house around 11:00am.
"Seeing them, Meherun embraced a holy Quran firmly and pleaded for life, but they slit the throat of all four of them [Meherun Nesa, her mother and two brothers],” Rosy added.
About Rosy, Razzaq said, "She is more than a hearsay witness."
"Whether the PW-4 [fourth prosecution witness] said conflicting something?" asked the tribunal.
"Yes," replied Razzaq and partly quoted Rosy as saying, "They [attackers] entered the house under the leadership of Quader Mollah that day. I could not say whether Quader Mollah had entered the house or not."
Razzaq said a book written by Rosy was published in June 2011 on the killing of Meherun where she did not mention the name of Mollah.
"If the incident was true, she could have written it in her book," said Razzaq.
During cross-examination, Rosy, however, said she did not mention the name of Mollah in her book as there was scope for trial.
Razzaq said 10th prosecution witness Syed Abdul Kaium did not say anything on the second charge which could implicate Mollah.
According to the third charge, Mollah accompanied by Al Badr, Razakar and non-Bangalees detained journalist Khandakar Abu Taleb from Mirpur-10 bus stand on March 29 and brought him
to a place known as Mirpur Jallad Khana Pump House and slaughtered him.
Khondaker Abul Ahsan, son Abu Taleb, testified Mollah and his accomplices had killed his father and he had heard about the killing from their non-Bangalee driver Nizam during the war.
Giving a similar statement, tenth prosecution witness Syed Abdul Kaium, who was neighbour of Abu Taleb, testified he had heard about the killing from his colleague Faruk Ahmed Khan in June 1971.
About their testimony, Razzaq said, “Both of them are hearsay and un-attributable witnesses. [Their testimonies] may be admissible but don’t have probative value.”
Mentionable, Razzaq on Tuesday said, “Family witness is very important.”
According to the fourth charge, a systematic attack and indiscriminate shooting by Quader Mollah and his cohorts killed hundreds of unarmed people in two villages, Khanbari and Ghatar Char, in Keraniganj onNovember25,1971.
Freedom fighter Mozaffar Ahmed Khan, Abdul Majid Palowan and Nur Jahan, first, seventh and eighth prosecution witnesses respectively, gave their testimonies supporting the charge.
Terming Mozaffar a "hearsay witness” Razzaq said he claimed that two freedom fighters were killed that day, but killing of freedom fighters does not fall under the jurisdiction of crimes against humanity as they were not civilian.
About Abdul Majid Palowan, Razzaq just said, "1 would not tell about PW-7. He [Majid] himself admitted that he was ward Awami League president.”
Majid testified that hiding behind a tree he saw Mollah shooting at the people at Ghatarchar School ground on November 25,1971.
About Nur Jahan, Razzaq said, “She is totally a hearsay witness. She heard about the killing of her husband from her father-in-law."
Nur Jahan testified Mollah had not allowed her to touch her husband's body at Ghatarchar in Keraniganj on November 25,1971.
Narrating the incident she said, “I saw some Pakistani soldiers and a short and dark Bangalee man. My husband lay on the ground there. When I approached to hold my husband the Bangalee man asked me to leave the spot, pointing something like a rifle at me."
She identified the Bangalee man as Mollah in the dock during her testimony at the tribunal on August 13 last year.
According to the fifth charge, Pakistani army and around 50 non-Bangalees led by Mollah launched an attack on Alubdi village of Mirpur killing 344 people on April 24,1971.
Shafiuddin Mollah and Amir Hossain Mollah, sixth and ninth prosecution witnesses, testified supporting the charge, while Altab Uddin Mollah, younger brother of Shafiuddin, testified as the fifth defence witness.
Razzaq did not say anything about the testimony of Shafiuddin, who was an eyewitness of the massacre but claimed Amir Hossain was an “un-attributable hearsay witness".
But Amir in his testimony said he had seen hiding in a bush Quader shooting at the villagers on April 24,1971.
Razzaq said, “So many people were killed there [Alubdi]; there should be more eyewitnesses [supporting the charge]."
At that point, the tribunal said testimony of the fifth defence witness corroborated the number of killings, and Shafiuddin and Shafiuddin both were members of victims' family.
Razzaq said, “The DW-5 said against the PW-6."
According to the sixth charge, under the leadership of Mollah, some
Biharis and Pakistani soldiers had killed six members of his family in Mirpur in the evening of March 26, 1971.
Razzaq said a single witness testified for the case and she was a "hearsay witness”.
According to the prosecution, the witness, who gave her testimony behind closed-doors, was the daughter of a victim and an “eyewitness" of the brutal killing.
Meanwhile, the tribunal cautioned English daily New Age for a report published yesterday over the court proceeding. “The court will go in action if [the matter] repeats (itself], ” said the court.
Meanwhile, the first defence witness in the war crimes case against former Jamaat ameer Ghulam Azam continued exhibiting defence documents at the International Crimes Tribunal-1.
Brig Gen (dismissed) Abdullahil Aman Azmi yesterday exhibited about 90 documents and with this the defence completed exhibiting a total of 246 documents. The two-member tribunal adjourned the proceeding until January 13.