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Prosecution wants gallows for Azharul

Staff Correspondent
The prosecution yesterday sought capital punishment for Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam claiming that they had proved the charges of genocide and crimes against humanity against him at the International Crimes Tribunal-1.
"Accused Azharul Islam was involved in sexually violating women, committed [at Rangpur Town Hall] during the Liberation War in 1971, which represents his perverted mentality," said prosecutorTureen Afroz.
Before drawing conclusion to the arguments on legal aspects, she prayed to the tribunal to order Azharul to pay adequate compensation to a rape vic-tim/prosecution witness for the social dishonour, ostracism and isolation she had to suffer for his heinous act.
The tribunal indicted the Jamaat
assistant secretary general on six charges of murder, genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the war. Azharul pleads not guilty.
In her arguments, Tureen told the tribunal that Rangpur Town Hall was used as a "rape camp" during the war and served as an instrument of terror.
The prosecution examined only one victim and five hearsay witnesses in their attempt to prove the charge of abetting and facilitating commission of offences of abduction, confinement, torture and rape at Rangpur Town Hall.
The three-member tribunal said they expected more witnesses and documents from the prosecution.
The prosecutor prayed to the tribunal to take Judicial Notice of Common Knowledge regarding "widespread" or “systematic” attacks on a civilian population at the town hall.
Tribunal Chairman Justice M Enayetur Rahim observed that killing, mass killing, genocide, looting, arson and crimes against humanity were committed during the war and were a matter of common knowledge, which they could take in their judicial notice.
The chairman however asked the prosecution how they would take a particular incident like the use of RangpurTown Hall as a "rape camp" in judicial notice.
Responding to the tribunal’s query, Tureen argued that the victim, who they had produced, sufficed to prove
the charge.
Azharul, the then president of Islami Chhatra Sangha of Rangpur, has been indicted for having involvement in killing 1,200 civilians at Jharuarbeel. Another 200 Hindus were detained, of whom five were killed and thrown from a running train.
The tribunal asked the prosecution about the fate of the rest of the detainees. "You could at least give the name of five detainees who were taken away, ” said the tribunal chairman.
Saying that the witness had identified the five who were thrown from the train, Tureen argued that the numerical discrepancies could not negate a charge of crimes against humanity as even a single act of murder could constitute such crimes.
She also quoted the verdict in a crimes against humanity case against Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed delivered by the International Crimes Tribunal-2.
The Tribunal-2 noted that the ultimate outcome of the criminal acts narrated in the charge was murder of an intellectual. The body of the victim could not be traced. To prove the offence of murder as a crime against humanity, locating the body is not necessary, as such crimes are committed in a context and as part of a patternbased attack and not as an isolated crime, the verdict read.
The proceeding of the case was adjourned until today when the defence are expected to place counter arguments.