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War Crimes Trial of Alim

Judgment today

Staff Correspondent
A tribunal is set to deliver today its verdict in the war crimes case against former BNP minister Abdul Alim, who was allegedly involved in killing Bangalees, especially Hindus and freedom fighters, during the 1971 Liberation War.
Alim faces 17 charges of crimes against humanity and genocide.
According to the charges, he participated in the killing of as many as 600 people and was also involved in looting, arson, deportation and detention of unarmed civilians. He was the chairman of Joypurhat Peace Committee and a leader of Razakar Bahini.
He and his accomplices attacked predominantly Hindu villages of
FROM PAGE I Karai Kadipur, Chawkpara, Sonarpara, Palpara and Munshipara in Joypurhat on April 26, 1971. They were accompanied by the Pakistan occupation army, reads one charge.
They damaged properties of the Hindus, looted valuables and set houses on fire in those villages. They dragged some 370 people out of their homes, lined them up and shot them dead.
Alim and his men slit 90-year-old Kanehira Mohanta's throat and buried Aswini Kumar Debnath alive.
Accompanied by Pakistan army Major Afzal and other soldiers, he held a meeting at Uttarhat Shahor under Khetlal and delivered a provocative speech in May 1971, says another charge.
Following the speech, members of the Peace Committee and the Razakar force along with the Pakistan army attacked the Hindu-dominant neighborhoods of Uttarhat Shahor, Harunjahat and other adjacent areas and held 10 Hindus who were later killed on Alim's orders.
A member of late president Ziaur Rahman's cabinet, Alim, had been on conditional bail since March 31, 2011, four days after his arrest, on health grounds. On September 22, as the case proceedings ended, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 cancelled the 83-year-old politician's bail and sent him to jail.
The prosecution produced 35 witnesses, including the investigation officer
of the case, and submitted a number of documents to prove Alim's involvement in war crimes.
The defence produced three witnesses, including Alim's son, and several documents to prove their client's alibi that he had been hiding during the Liberation War.
Wrapping up the closing arguments, the prosecution sought death penalty for Alim, a three-time lawmaker from the BNP, claiming that they had proved the charges against the accused beyond any shadow of reasonable doubt.
On the other hand, Alim pleaded not guilty and the defence said the prosecution could not prove any charge brought against him and sought his acquittal on all charges.
Within 17 days of the completion of the case proceedings, Justice Obaidul Hassan, chairman of ICT-2, yesterday declared the date of the verdict's delivery. This is the shortest time taken for disposing of a war crimes case. The second lowest time was 18 days in the case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah.
The judgment on Alim will be the eighth by the International Crimes Tribunal since its establishment in March 2010.
AKM Nasiruddin Mahmud, registrar of the tribunal, told The Daily Star that security at the tribunal would be beefed up as had been done prior to the delivery of the previous verdicts.
ALIM'S BACKGROUND Born on November 1, 1930
in West Bengal of India, Alim with his family migrated to Joypurhat in 1950-51. In 1958, he joined the Muslim League. He was a top leader of the Convention Muslim League and vice-chairman of Bogra District Council in 1971, according to the prosecution.
Alim allegedly established a peace committee office and a training centre for Razakars and arranged accommodation for Pakistani Major Afzal, occupying the Gadi Ghar (trading office) ofShownlal Bajla of Joypurhat. Shownlal and his family members had been compelled to go to India.
After independence, Alim was put in jail under the Collaborators Act-1972. But when Ziaur Rahman took over the helm of the country, he made Alim a minister in 1978.
Alim also joined Zia's newly-formed BNP at that time. He was elected lawmaker from Joypurhat in the 1979, 1996 and 2001 elections, according to defence and prosecution documents.
The agency designated to probe war crimes began the investigation into the allegations against Alim in March 2011 and submitted a report to the prosecution in January 2012.
Sazzad bin Alim, son of Abdul Alim, yesterday said the accused was undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for complications in his lungs.