Jamaat ban likely before Mar 26, says Mozammel

Jamaat-e-Islami, the radical Islamist party that actively opposed the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, is likely to be banned before March 26, the country’s Independence Day, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said yesterday.
In reply to a question over banning of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the minister told The Independent, “I believe it will be possible to ban Jamaat-e-Islami before the next March 26 Independence Day.”
He also echoed the opinion of former law minister Shafique Ahmed, who yesterday told a private TV station that it was possible to ban Jamaat under the existing laws of the country.
The International Crimes  Tribunal (ICT) Investi-gation Agency,

after an investigation against  Jamaat-e-Islami, on March 27 last year,  submitted its report with recommendation for banning the party and all organisations run in accordance with its ideology.
The ICT investigation agency in its report after a year of probe said the Jamaat can be tried on seven charges such as crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes, violation of Geneva Convention,  violation of international law, conspiracy and  attempt to commit crimes against humanity and the failure to resist such crimes.
The report further said the Jamaat-e-Islami and its front organisation Islami Chhatra Sangha, the peace committee, Rajakar, Al Badr and Al Shams formed to collaborate with the Pakistani occupation army, as well as the party mouthpiece Daily Sangram committed crimes under section 4(1) and 4(2) of the ICT.  
Law Minister Advocate Anisul Huq, on November 25, told reporters that a draft of the amendment to the law aimed at banning the Jamaat and all other parties—which were involved in crimes against humanity in 1971—has been submitted to the cabinet sub-committee for approval.
Sources said, the International Crimes Tribunal has been chosen for the trials of crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation. But there is nothing mentioned in the ICT Act about the punishment of a party or organisation for its crimes against humanity. That is why the process of banning Jamaat will be implemented only after amending this law. The High Court in an Aug 1, 2013 ruling had held Jamaat’s registration as a political party illegal. The party challenged the verdict in the top appeals court.
   In the verdict against the Jamaat ideologue Ghulam Azam in 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal had called it a ‘party of criminals’. On Aug 19 that year, the tribunal’s investigators said they were contemplating a probe into the Jamaat’s role in war crimes.

 

Jamaat ban likely before Mar 26, says Mozammel

Jamaat-e-Islami, the radical Islamist party that actively opposed the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, is likely to be banned before March 26, the countrys Independence Day, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said yesterday. In reply to a question over banning of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the minister told The Independent, I believe it will be possible to ban Jamaat-e-Islami before the next March 26 Independence Day. He also echoed the opinion of former law minister Shafique Ahmed, who yesterday told a private TV station that it was possible to ban Jamaat under the existing laws of the country. The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Investi-gation Agency, after an investigation against Jamaat-e-Islami, on March 27 last year, submitted its report with recommendation for banning the party and all organisations run in accordance with its ideology. The ICT investigation agency in its report after a year of probe said the Jamaat can be tried on seven charges such as crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes, violation of Geneva Convention, violation of international law, conspiracy and attempt to commit crimes against humanity and the failure to resist such crimes. The report further said the Jamaat-e-Islami and its front organisation Islami Chhatra Sangha, the peace committee, Rajakar, Al Badr and Al Shams formed to collaborate with the Pakistani occupation army, as well as the party mouthpiece Daily Sangram committed crimes under section 4(1) and 4(2) of the ICT. Law Minister Advocate Anisul Huq, on November 25, told reporters that a draft of the amendment to the law aimed at banning the Jamaat and all other partieswhich were involved in crimes against humanity in 1971has been submitted to the cabinet sub-committee for approval. Sources said, the International Crimes Tribunal has been chosen for the trials of crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation. But there is nothing mentioned in the ICT Act about the punishment of a party or organisation for its crimes against humanity. That is why the process of banning Jamaat will be implemented only after amending this law. The High Court in an Aug 1, 2013 ruling had held Jamaats registration as a political party illegal. The party challenged the verdict in the top appeals court. In the verdict against the Jamaat ideologue Ghulam Azam in 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal had called it a party of criminals. On Aug 19 that year, the tribunals investigators said they were contemplating a probe into the Jamaats role in war crimes.