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War Crimes Trial

Witness testifies against Qaisar

Staff Correspondent
A martyr's son yesterday testified that Syed Mohammad Qaisar and his accomplices had handed over his father to the Pakistan army during the Liberation War and that his father never returned.
Shah Hasan Ali, son of martyred Shah Firoz Ali of Habiganj, said Qaisar's cohorts had also handed over his freedom fighter brother to the Pakistani army but he was released after enduring torture for 20-25 days.
Qaisar and his cohorts had done all these because Hasan's brother was a freedom fighter and his father did not make his brother surrender, said Hasan, the seventh prosecution witness in Qaisar's war crimes case.
"I want justice," said the emotion-choked witness, who was seen sobbing several times while testifying for over two hours. He also identified the 73-year-old accused at the International (TimesTribunal-2.
Qaisar, a state minister during the HM Ershad's regime, is facing 16 charges, including genocide and murder committed in Brahmanbaria and Habiganj during the nine-month-long war.
The 59-year-old witness yesterday said he was a class-IX student and an organiser of Habiganj Chhatra Sangram Parishad during the war.
Hasan said Qaisar had formed "Qaisar Bahini" and on April 27, 1971, he heard that Qaisar and his cohorts were marching towards Habiganj with the Pakistani army from Brahmanbaria. On April 29, they set up camp at Sayestaganj Rest House.
Around 11:00am on April 30, Qaisar, his cohorts, and the Pakistani army attacked the Habiganj town and looted houses of the Hindus and Awami Leaguers and burnt them down. "I witnessed the looting and arson from my house, which was adjacent to Mostafa Ali's house [member of the Pakistan National Assembly)," said the witness.
Hasan said in late May, 1971, Qaisar held a meeting at their village with his accomplices, members of Jamaat-e-Islami, Barek Mokter, a top Convention Muslim League Leader of Habiganj, Soleman Razakar, and Abul Thikadar where they said family members of freedom fighters should be killed and their houses should be torched.
Before the meeting, through a megaphone, guardians of freedom fighters were asked to attend the meeting along with their family members and make the freedom fighters surrender, said Hasan.
Hasan said on June 12, 1971, Qaisar held another meeting with the members of local Peace Committee, an anti-liberation organisation, at Barek's Habiganj house where it was decided that his father would be detained as his freedom fighter brother Shah Hossain Ali did not surrender. Hasan said he had learnt about the meeting from at least three people who were forced to join the meeting and make a list of local freedom fighters.
The following day, Soleman Razakar, Abul Thikader and several other people laid siege to their home. They said Hasan's father has to go Barek's home to talk to Qaisar and others, said Hasan, adding that as his father refused to go with them, they dragged him out, said the eye witness to the incident.
Hasan, his uncles and relatives followed Soleman Razakar and Abul Thikader as they took his father to Habiganj Sadar Police Station.
"From a distance, I saw Qaisar, Barek Mokter, Abul Thikader and some others at the police station," said Hasan. His uncles Shah Nur Ali, Shah Abdul Hai and Babar Ali went inside and requested Qaisar and Barek to release their brother.
Qaisar and Barek told his uncles to bring in their nephew, or else, they would hand their brother over to the Pakistani army, Hasan quoted his uncles as saying.
Hasan said his father was tortured at the police station the whole night and when they went to the station on the following morning, they saw Qaisar, Barek and some others taking his father to Sayestaganj.
His uncle Shah Nur Ali went to Sayestaganj and from a distance saw Hasan's father and several others tied to pillars inside the army camp. He saw Qaisar and Barek there too, said Hasan.
The Pakistani army later took his father and other detainees towards Sreemangal and his father was never seen again, said emotion-chocked Hasan.
Hasan said his freedom fighter brother made a surprise visit home on July 16 but around 9:00pm, members of Qaisar Bahini led by Soleman Razakar stormed their house and took his brother.
They first took him to Habiganj Police Station before handing him over to the Pakistani army camp personnel at Sayestaganj, said Hasan, adding that his brother was later taken to Shahaji Bazar army camp, where he endured torture for 20-25 days before being released.
Qaisar's lawyer SM Shahjahan asked three questions before the three-member tribunal led by Justice Obaidul Hassan adjourned the case proceeding until today, when Hasan would face further cross-examination.