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Mollah's War Crimes

Plea for death penalty

Defence to argue on lawpoints today

Staff Correspondent
The prosecution yesterday once again sought capital punishment for Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah for “committing" crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
Mohammad Ali, conducting prosecutor of the case against the Jamaat leader, made the plea before the International Crimes Tribunal-2 while ending his legal replies during the closing arguments.
With completion of the prosecution's reply, trial of the Jamaat assistant secretary general has come almost to an end, as the defence yesterday concluded their arguments on factual aspects.
However, Abdur Razzaq, chief of the defence who have already placed legal arguments in three days, would place a short legal submission today, Tajul Islam, a counsel of Mollah, told The Daily Star yesterday.
After Razzaq's submission, the tribunal may fix a date for pronouncing verdict. According to the stipulated laws, the tribunal is to deliver verdict after summation of arguments of both the prosecution and the defence, Tajul added.
Concluding his replies, Mohammad Ali said, “The accused [Quader Mollah] has committed crimes against humanity under section 3 (2) (a) (c) (g) and (h) [of the
International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973] and the prosecution have successfully been able, by adducing both eyewitnesses and hearsay witnesses, to prove the charges beyond any shadow of reasonable doubts.
"The accused deserves to be awarded capital punishment under section 20 of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 and the entire nation is waiting for it,” said Ali.
Section 20 (2) of the Act says, "Upon conviction of an accused person, the tribunal shall award sentence of death or such other punishment proportionate to the gravity of the crimes as appears to the tribunal to be just and proper.”
On December 27,2012, Ali sought the same after completing his arguments on legal and factual aspects.
On the other side, the defence said the prosecution have “failed” to provide material evidence to prove the charges.
After completing his factual arguments, Mollah's counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafder told reporters his client has to face the trial after 40 years of independence “only for political purposes”.
“My personal opinion is that the prosecution couldn't produce any punishment worthy evidence against the accused. Our client will be acquitted," said Sobhan.
On May 28, 2012, the tribunal indicted Mollah with six charges of crimes against humanity committed during the nine-month-long war.
Twelve prosecution witnesses including two investigation officers of the case testified against Mollah, while six defence witnesses including the accused himself gave testimonies as defence witnesses.
After yesterday's court proceedings started at 12:03pm, Sobhan, for the fourth day, placed his arguments citing testimonies of two investigation officers and six defence witnesses.
Citing Mollah's testimony, Sobhan said their plea of alibi is that Mollah was not in Dhaka during the Liberation War.
Mollah, in his testimony, said he left Dhaka on March 11 or 12 in 1971 for his village and spent the rest of the year and almost entire 1972 running a business there.
Sobhan said AIM Lokman, sixth defence witness and the then imam of Shahidullah Hall of Dhaka University, where Mollah used to reside, was acquainted with Mollah and said the accused regularly took part in the prayers.
Lokman "corroborated” with Mollah's testimony as he said the accused had left the campus for home three to four days after the historic March 7 speech by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The tribunal said Lokman testified that he was in the hall during the war and Mollah had returned to the dormitory perhaps in the last part of 1972 or in early 1973.
But Mollah testified that he had come to Dhaka in the last part of July 1971 and stayed in the hall around 20-21 days for taking part in the practical examination, the tribunal added.
"Mollah had said his prayers 105 times Iduring his stay at hall], but he [Lokman] didn't see him. Isn't it contradictory?” said the tribunal.
"The tribunal should not consider such minor things,” said Sobhan.
The prosecution, however, would not get any benefit of it, the tribunal said.
Sobhan said Shushil Chandra Mondal and Muslem Uddin Ahmed, second and third defence witnesses respectively, supported Mollah's testimony that he was at Faridpur during the war.
Sobhan said the prosecution had claimed police arrested Mollah in Faridpur, 1972, when he went there after Mirpur was freed on January 31,1972 on charges of "committing crimes”, but released him within hours.
"If he [Mollah] was arrested for committing crimes, why was he released within hours?” questioned Sobhan.
Fourth defence witness
Mosammat Sahera, sister-in-law of martyr Pallab, who was allegedly killed upon Mollah's instruction, said Akhter Gunda and Biharis killed his brother-in-law during the war.
Altab Uddin Mollah, fifth defence witness, testified to discredit two prosecution witnesses -- Shafiuddin Mollah and Amir Hossain Mollah — who testified that Quader Mollah had directly taken part with Pakistani army in the killing of around 400 Bangalees at Alubdi on April24,1971.
After lunch break, Mohammad Ali gave replies to legal questions raised by Abdur Razzaq during his closing arguments in the case.
Abdur Razzaq claimed the purpose of the trial after 40-year delay was “political" as Mollah is a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, which did not side with Awami League in the 2001 elections.
The prosecution have “failed" to give a reasonable explanation for the delay in the formal charge, Razzaq claimed.
Ali said the charge was not brought against Jamaat or any political party, rather those who “directly took part or aided in committing crimes against humanity were charged”.
“There is no political reason behind the trial," he added.
Ali said the prosecution had given explanation about the delay during their arguments and it was not mandatory to explain the delay in the formal charge.
Razzaq argued that as 195 Pakistani army officials, who were the principal perpetrators, were given clemency through a tripartite agreement in 1974, “their aides and abettors" couldn't be prosecuted after 40 years.
Ali said the tripartite agreement was an executive act that cannot provide any premium to the local perpetrators of crimes committed during the Liberation War. Besides, abetting and aiding are distinct offences.
Giving example of the trail of former Liberian president CharlesTaylor, Ali said he was charged for simple aiding and abetting.
“Do you want to charge Mollah as an individual or a member of an auxiliary force?” asked the tribunal.
Ali said Mollah should be charged as an individual as well as a member of an auxiliary force because "he was a prominent leader of Al-Badr and Al-Badr was an auxiliary force [of Pakistani army]
Ali added “Sun Set at Midday” written by Mohiuddin Choudhury, a local Jamaat and Peace Committee leader in 1971, is a prosecution document in which the writer says, “The workers purely belonging to Island Chhatra Sangha were Al-Badr.”
Citing the book "The Betrayal of East Pakistan” by Pakistani army commander of the Eastern Command (1971) Lt Gen AAK Niazi, Ali said Al-Badr and Al-Shams were two wings of Razakar force.
The then Pakistani government made Razakar an auxiliary force of its army through a gazette notification on August 2, 1971, according to historic documents. Mollah, in his testimony, said he was elected president of Shahidullah Hall unit Islami Chhatra Sangha in 1970.
Razzaq argued that only one witness testified for the charge no six in the case.
Citing a decision of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Ali said “no corroboration” is required for the testimony of sexually assaulted witness and the third prosecution witness, lone witness for the sixth charge, was both a victim of sexual and physical assault.
The three-member tribunal led by Justice Obaidul Hassan with members Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Judge M Shahinur Islam heard the replies before adjourning the case proceedinguntil today.
ICT-1
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday adjourned its morning session following a prayer of the defence, who said they could not come to the tribunal due to hartal.
In the afternoon session,
both the defence and the prosecution completed their submissions on the petition of retrial order's review.
The tribunal-1 fixed January 21 for an order in this regard.
Prosecutor Haidar Ali placed his closing arguments for about one and a half hours in the war crimes case against Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee.
He placed arguments for five more charges yesterday. Earlier on Sunday, he placed arguments for 11 charges.
Sayedee is facing 20 charges for crimes against humanity committed during the war.