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Trial Criticism

War tribunal unhappy with govt silence

Staff Correspondent
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday censured the government for its "inaction" in responding to criticisms of different international organisations and states over the ongoing war crimes trials.
The court also expressed dissatisfaction that the prosecution and the investigation agency were "silent” on the criticism, which the "outsiders" had been carrying out going "beyond existing norms and scope of the law”.
Tribunal Chairman Justice M Enayetur Rahim and its member Justice Jahangir Hossain made the observations while hearing the prosecution's closing arguments in the case against former Jatiya Party lawmaker Abdul Jabbar.
After the pronouncement of verdict in several war crimes cases, international organisations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International criticised the court rulings, especially death penalties.
Pakistan and Turkey condemned the execution of war criminal Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah in December last year. The EU always opposes the death penalty while the US said it would be "wisest not to have death penalties".
Interestingly, none of these organisations issued any reaction after war criminal MA Zahid Hossain Khokon and Mobarak Hossain, who are of comparatively low political profiles, were sentenced to death.
During their argument on legal aspects in Jabbar's case, Prosecutor Tapos Kami Baul was citing the verdicts of Bangladeshi war crimes cases.
Justice Jahangir asked him, "Why are you not showing examples from other countries?"
Tapos said the two war crimes tribunals have already delivered 13 verdicts and a jurisprudence of "our own" has developed.
"But, they say the trial proceedings have not been maintaining international standards," the justice said, adding, "In fact, we are not bound to follow these [foreign examples] except the precedents of the Supreme Court."
Tapos said, “ ... Our jurisprudence is very rich. ”
According to the criminal jurisprudence of Bangladesh, the highest punishment is death penalty, said Tapos.
"It would be discriminatory, if they [war criminals) were not given death penalty as the highest punishment.
"They have to be awarded death penalty considering the gravity of their offences," said Tapos.
More than half of the countries of the world still have death penalties, he went on to say.
African countries, inspired by trial proceedings in Bangladesh, have decided not to take their matter to the International Criminal Court (ICC), rather decided to hold war crimes trials on their own, Tapos said.
"But, the international community are not considering these," said Justice Jahangir, adding, "You have to say these before the inter-
national community."
While Tapos sought capital punishment for Jabbar claiming that the prosecution had been able to prove all five charges against him, the tribunal once again deplored the criticism of foreign organisations and the government's inaction to counter the criticism.
"We are delivering [death penalties) as our act permits us. But the international community is not ready to accept it. Isn't there any necessity to take the concern of the international community into cognisance," said Justice Enayetur Rahim.
Tapos said, "There is no scope to go beyond the jurisdiction of our jurisprudence.”
"But you are not being able to convince the international community. Why are you not projecting the matter before the international community?" said Justice Jahangir.
"It seems, you prosecution, the investigation agency and the government are sleeping. They have been giving reactions after verdicts,” said Justice Enayetur Rahim.
"These outsiders are speaking about the verdicts and trial proceedings of an independent country, going beyond existing norms and scope of the law. But we are not seeing any protest from you. We are not seeing any role," he said.
"You are totally silent. You are not protesting it," Justice Jahangir said.
Justice Enayetur Rahim, however, mentioned Bangladesh's recent protest against the adoption of a resolution by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Provincial Assembly of Pakistan.
After completion of the prosecution's arguments, the court asked the govern-ment-appointed state defence counsel to begin his arguments today.
Jabbar is being tried in absentia.