The war crimes tribunal yesterday accepted charges against former BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Shakhawat Hossain and eight others while cleared three other suspects.

The three-member tribunal led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim took the charges into cognisance against the nine,

saying it had found prima facie evidence of their involvement in crimes against humanity.

Of them who are from Jessore, Shakhawat and Billal Hossain Biswas are in jail while the others are on the run.

The court, however, asked the jail authorities to release three others if they were not wanted in any other case because no evidence was found of their involvement in war crimes. This is the first time any accused in a war crimes case has been cleared of charges brought against them.

The prosecution will make its next legal move on receiving the certified copy of the order, said Prosecutor Zead Al Malum and Rezia Sultana Chaman, adding that they were allowed to seek review of the order within seven days.

Those who have been cleared of the charges are Moshiar Rahman and Ajihar Moroi of Chingra and Akram Hossain of Bhalukghar Mollapara in Keshabpur upazila, Jessore. Of them, Ajihar and Akram are now in jail while the other is absconding.

Charges against whom were accepted are Shakhawat, former lawmaker from Jessore, who is now involved in Jatiya Party politics; Billal and Ibrahim Hossain of Nehalpur, Sheikh Md Mujibur Rahman and Kazi Ohidul Islam of Shekhpura, Aziz Sardar of Mominpur, Aziz Sardar of Boga, Lutfar Moroi of Porchakra and Abdul Khaleq Moroi of Altapol in Keshabpur upazila.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 ordered the officer-in-charge of Keshabpur Police Station to submit a report within two weeks regarding the execution of arrest warrants issued earlier for the fugitives and fixed September 30 to pass the next order.

The prosecution on July 27 pressed charges against 12 people of killing two persons, raping one and torturing two others in Keshabpur of Jessore All the incidents took place in the Bangla month of Ashwin (between midSeptember and mid-October) during the Liberation War in 1971, according to the prosecution.

Shakhawat was a central committee member of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat, and a commander of Pakistan army's auxiliary force Razakar Bahini at Chingra Bazar camp, prosecutors said, while the other accused were members of Razakar Bahini.