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War Crimes Accused, Convicts

Move to step up hunt for fugitives

TUHIN SHUBHRA ADHIKARY
A monitoring cell for overseeing the capture and return of war crimes convicts and accused in hiding has asked law enforcers to intensify their efforts to find and catch them.
The cell formed seven month ago held its first meeting on Thursday. The delay in the cell working in full swing had frustrated justice seekers and campaigners of the war trials.
"We have distributed some jobs among
the members of the cell and will make our decisions upon receiving follow-ups from them,* chief of the cell Kamal Uddin Ahmed told The Daily Star yesterday.
"We will hold our next meeting whenever we deem necessary," said Kamal, also an additional secretary (political) to the home ministry.
The meeting, chaired by Kamal at the home ministry, asked the police and
detectives to intensify their efforts to catch war crimes accused Abdul Jabbar and Syed Md Hasan Ali, who are believed to be in Bangladesh.
The police were asked to work "intensely" with Interpol to know the whereabouts of convicted war criminal and expelled Jamaat-e-Islami member Abul Kalam Azad, also known as Bachchu Razakar.
On condemned fugitives Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan, who are living in the UK and the USA, the cell decided to let the foreign ministry lead the work for bringing them back.
The cell also decided to seek cooperation of pro-liberation forces in the said countries to convince the authorities to deport the fugitives and the investigation agency of the tribunal would lead this.
The government on February 16 formed the eight-member cell comprising joint secretaries of the foreign and the home ministries, a deputy inspector general of police, representatives of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, the National Security Intelligence, and the prosecution and the investigation agency of the tribunals.
As the cell failed to hold its first
meeting. International Crimes Tribunal's investigation agency — which proposed the formation of the cell -- on August 5, wrote to the home ministry to "immediately" arrange for a meeting.
About the delay, Kamal yesterday said, "Though it was the first formal meeting [of the cell], we held several casual meetings."
During yesterday's meeting, the representative of the prosecution was absent.
Sultan Mahmud Simon, the prosecution’s representative to the cell, told The Daily Star, "I was not informed. I will check on Sunday, whether the prosecution received any invitation letter for the meeting."
Apart from the convicted fugitives Mueen Uddin, Ashraf and Azad, trial of a Faridpur BNP leader Zahid Hossain Khokon is being held at the International Crimes Tribunal-1. The case is awaiting verdict delivery and Khokon is believed to be in Sweden.
Tribunal-1 on August 14 framed charges against former Jatiya Party lawmaker Abdul Jabbar, who is also on the run, and accepted the charges brought against another fugitive Syed Md Hasan Ali, the alleged commander of the Razakar unit in Tarail of Kishoreganj.