Staff Reporter :
International Crimes Tribunal on Thursday sentenced three people to prison until death and jailed five others for 20 years in a case filed on different charges of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War in Mymensingh’s Gafargaon and Bhaluka.
Among the nine accused, one man was acquitted of charge to become the first person to be exonerated by the war crimes tribunal in the 42 cases it has tried.
A three-member panel of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 led by Justice Md Shahinur Islam announced the verdict on Thursday.
Among the convicted persons, AFM Faizullah, Abdul Razzak Mandal and Md Shamsuzzaman alias Abul Kalam have been imprisoned until biological death, while Md Khalilur Rahman Mir, Md Abdullah, Md Rois Uddin Azadi alias Akkel Ali, Sirajul Islam Tota and Alim Uddin Khan will serve 20 years in jail.
Accused Md Abdul Latif has been acquitted of all charges in the case. He will be released at once if not wanted in any other case, said the tribunal.
The accused faced four charges of murder, abduction, confinement, torture, arson and crimes against humanity during Bangladesh’s war of independence.
The case alleged that they joined the anti-Bangladesh paramilitary force Razakar
during the war and collaborated with the Pakistani occupation army to commit the crimes in different villages of Mymensingh. The tribunal opened the trial proceedings on Mar 4, 2018 after framing charges against 11 people in the case. However, two of the accused died in the course of the trial.
Accused Md Khalilur Rahman Mir, Md Shamsuzzaman alias Abul Kalam, Md Abdullah, Md Rois Uddin Azadi alias Akkel Ali and Abdul Latif were present in court during the verdict. But four others, namely AFM Faizullah, Abdul Razzak Mandal, Sirajul Islam Tota and Alim Uddin Khan are absconding.
The court had kept the verdict in the case pending (CAV) on Jan 26, 2020 after hearing the arguments of both the parties. But the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic meant that it could not rule on any war crimes case last year.
The investigation of the case started on October 16 in 2014 and the tribunal issued a warrant of arrest against the accused on October 25 in the same year upon the petition of the investigation officer of the case.
Completing the investigation the probe team submitted their report to the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Febaruary 10 in 2017 and the tribunal framed the charge on March 4 in 2018. The court had kept the verdict in the case pending (CAV) on January 26, 2020 after concluding the hearing and arguments of the case.
Meanwhile, a person came to the tribunal in the morning on Thursday before delivering the verdict and claimed himself an accused of the case. But the law enforcers didn’t allow him to enter into the tribunal.
Later a lawyer, Abdus Sattar Palwan, talked to the person and came to know that he was AFM Faizullah, one of three convicts who had been given prison until death. The accused didn’t have the ability to cost the case, said the lawyer. Later he was sent to the Shahbagh Police Station, sources said.
International Crimes Tribunal on Thursday sentenced three people to prison until death and jailed five others for 20 years in a case filed on different charges of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War in Mymensingh’s Gafargaon and Bhaluka.
Among the nine accused, one man was acquitted of charge to become the first person to be exonerated by the war crimes tribunal in the 42 cases it has tried.
A three-member panel of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 led by Justice Md Shahinur Islam announced the verdict on Thursday.
Among the convicted persons, AFM Faizullah, Abdul Razzak Mandal and Md Shamsuzzaman alias Abul Kalam have been imprisoned until biological death, while Md Khalilur Rahman Mir, Md Abdullah, Md Rois Uddin Azadi alias Akkel Ali, Sirajul Islam Tota and Alim Uddin Khan will serve 20 years in jail.
Accused Md Abdul Latif has been acquitted of all charges in the case. He will be released at once if not wanted in any other case, said the tribunal.
The accused faced four charges of murder, abduction, confinement, torture, arson and crimes against humanity during Bangladesh’s war of independence.
The case alleged that they joined the anti-Bangladesh paramilitary force Razakar
during the war and collaborated with the Pakistani occupation army to commit the crimes in different villages of Mymensingh. The tribunal opened the trial proceedings on Mar 4, 2018 after framing charges against 11 people in the case. However, two of the accused died in the course of the trial.
Accused Md Khalilur Rahman Mir, Md Shamsuzzaman alias Abul Kalam, Md Abdullah, Md Rois Uddin Azadi alias Akkel Ali and Abdul Latif were present in court during the verdict. But four others, namely AFM Faizullah, Abdul Razzak Mandal, Sirajul Islam Tota and Alim Uddin Khan are absconding.
The court had kept the verdict in the case pending (CAV) on Jan 26, 2020 after hearing the arguments of both the parties. But the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic meant that it could not rule on any war crimes case last year.
The investigation of the case started on October 16 in 2014 and the tribunal issued a warrant of arrest against the accused on October 25 in the same year upon the petition of the investigation officer of the case.
Completing the investigation the probe team submitted their report to the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Febaruary 10 in 2017 and the tribunal framed the charge on March 4 in 2018. The court had kept the verdict in the case pending (CAV) on January 26, 2020 after concluding the hearing and arguments of the case.
Meanwhile, a person came to the tribunal in the morning on Thursday before delivering the verdict and claimed himself an accused of the case. But the law enforcers didn’t allow him to enter into the tribunal.
Later a lawyer, Abdus Sattar Palwan, talked to the person and came to know that he was AFM Faizullah, one of three convicts who had been given prison until death. The accused didn’t have the ability to cost the case, said the lawyer. Later he was sent to the Shahbagh Police Station, sources said.
