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Enact law, protect us

War crimes witnesses plead for govt move

Our Correspondent, Pirojpur
Amid recurrent attacks on war crimes witnesses and people involved with the war crimes trial, several prosecution witnesses yesterday urged the government to enact a witness protection law to ensure their longterm security.
They also demanded the government provide financial assistance to the witnesses as earning a livelihood has become quite difficult for many of them due to fear of fresh attacks by Jamaat-Shibir men for testifying against top Jamaat leaders.
They made the appeal to Barisal Divisional Commissioner Nurul Amin when he went to distribute warm clothes among 20 witnesses and also gave nine
witnesses Tk 5,000 each at the programme at Parerhat Rajlaxmi School and College in Pirojpur, the home district of Sayedee.
"Our family members can't go out freely as we fear attacks by Jamaat-Shibir men," said Mahabubul Alam, a witness in Sayedee'scase.
He urged the government to develop a special residential area for the war crimes witnesses.
On October 28, alleged Jamaat-Shibir men stormed Mahabubul's house. The witness, however, managed to escape the attack hiding in an attic room.
Another prosecution witness in Sayedee's case, Mostafa Hawlader was hacked in his Pirojpur home on December 8 and succumbed to his wounds at Dhaka Medical College Hospital two days later.
Houses of judges and prosecutors also came under attack in last two months.
Following the incidents, the government provided police security to all the witnesses.
Since the beginning of the long-awaited trial of war criminals over three years ago, different quarters have been demanding the government enact a law to protect the witnesses and other people involved in the trial, but to no avail.
Witnesses yesterday also urged the authorities concerned to take special care of the family members of Mostafa Hawlader and arrange for them an interview with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
On February 28 last year, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 found Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Sayedee guilty of committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971 and sentenced him to death.
Following the verdict, the Jamaat-Shibir men unleashed terror across the country which claimed dozens of lives.
The case is now pending with the Supreme Court as both prosecution and defence lodged