Court vigilant about rights of accused: CJ
Nizami�s review verdict tomorrow
Chief Justice (CJ) Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday said that the court does not want to make a mockery while conducting the war crimes trial. Rather, the court conducts the trial vigilantly so that the rights of accused are not violated, the CJ added. The chief justice made the observation when the Appellate Division bench of the Supreme Court he led concluded hearing on a petition filed by war criminal Matiur Rahman Nizami seeking review of his death penalty for wartime offences. At one stage of the hearing, the CJ said, We dont want to make a mockery in the name of justice. The whole world is observing the trial, which is being conducted in the country against those who committed crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation.
We are conscious about the war crimes trial and we are conducting the trial with utmost care so that the rights of the convicted persons are not violated, the CJ added. After concluding the hearing, the four-member bench fixed May 5 (tomorrow) the date for announcing its verdict on the review petition. The CJ also said that the mass killings, torture and massacres during the War of Liberation should not be compared to those that took place in Kosovo and Yugoslavia during wartimes. War crimes in Bangladesh can be compared to those committed under the Hitler regime during the Second World War. Earlier, during the hearing, Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, counsel for Nizami, told the court that the then Bangladesh government pardoned a total of 195 war criminals following a treaty with Pakistan.
But, after 40 years, the government is holding the trial of collaborators excluding the main accused, which cannot be done in the eye of law and the collaborators should not receive highest punishments for assisting the principal accused, he said.
He also said that the government was conducting the trial with a political motive. Hossain said the allegations, which were brought against Nizami, also the Jamaat chief, were not true. All the allegations are brought against him for collaborating with the Pakistan army during the War of Liberation. The Jamaat chief should be acquitted from all the charges as there was no specific allegation against him accusing him of taking part in crimes during the war, Hossain added.
Opposing Mahbubs submission, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said that there was no scope to reconsider the apex court verdict in the war crimes cases against Nizami. He also argued that the International Crimes Tribunal and the Supreme Court handed down death penalties to the Jamaat chief as sufficient documents were produced before the courts showing Nizamis involvement in crimes against humanity during the liberation war. The tribunal awarded him death penalty for wartime offences and the apex court later upheld the tribunal verdict as the defence has failed to identify any glitches in the tribunal verdict, Alam said. As per the witnesses, Nizami gave statements and wrote column in newspapers in 1971 supporting the cause of Al Badr, an auxiliary force to the Pakistan army, which led to the intellectual killings on December 14, 1971. Arguing against the defense logic that someone of a group cannot be tried after they commit a crime just because the mastermind is a fugitive, Alam said the remaining accused should be tried if there is enough evidence against them. The Jamaat leader filed the petition on March 30 seeking a review of the apex court judgement that upheld his death penalty awarded by the International Crimes Tribunal for committing crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971. Earlier, on April 10, in response to a time petition moved by Nizamis lawyer Advocate Khandakar Mahbub Hossain, the apex court deferred the hearing till May 3. Nizami filed the petition 14 days after the Supreme Court released the copy of the full judgment. Barrister Najeeb Momen, son of Nizami, said a 70-page document citing 46 arguments was submitted to the apex court seeking acquittal of Nizami. The SC, on January 6, upheld the verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that sentenced Nizami to death for crimes against humanity during the 1971 war. Two months later, on March 15, the apex court released the full verdict. The ICT issued a death warrant for him hours after the release of the SC full verdict. The following day, jail authorities read out the judgment to the convict. In October 2014, the ICT-1 handed down capital punishment to Nizami, the leader of the infamous Al-Badr force in 1971, for his wartime offences. So far, the Supreme Court handed down verdicts on five war criminals.
