Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdus Subhan will die for leading pro-Pakistan militias to commit war crimes such as murders, genocide and abductions in Pabna, a court has ruled. The International Crimes Tribunal-2 Chairman, Justice Obaidul Hasan, handed down the maximum penalty on Wednesday. With six of the nine charges levelled by the prosecution having been proven beyond any shred of doubt, Subhan was sentenced to be hanged till death. The other two tribunal members, Justice Md Mujibur Rahman Mia and Justice Shahinur Islam, were also present at the time of the sentencing – the 16th conviction for crimes against humanity. Subhan was the chief of Jamaat’s Pabna unit and sat on the party’s highest policymaking body during the post-Liberation War era. It came to light in the trial that Subhan, with Pakistani soldiers, had indulged in murders, mass killings, arson and lootings once ‘Operation Searchlight’ was launched on the night of Mar 25, 1971. He is the ninth top Jamaat leader to be convicted for war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s war of independence from Pakistan. Who is Subhan? A former MP from Pabna town, Subhan was born on Feb 19, 1936 in the Tailakundi Sujanagar Police Station. His father was Sheikh Naimuddin, and mother, Nurani Begum. In 1954, he passed the Kamil exams from the Aliya Madrasa in Sirajganj. He later became the head Maulana of the same institution, and subsequently the superintendent of the Ulot Senior Madrasa in Arifpur. He was appointed the chief of the Pabna district unit of the Jamaat once it was formed. From 1962 to 1965 he was a member of the Provincial Council. He contested in the 1970 election but lost to Awami League candidate Amjad Hossain. Subhan was the General Secretary and subsequently the Vice-President of the ‘Peace Committee’ in Pabna during the 1971 war, formed to help the Pakistani forces in suppressing the freedom struggle of the Bengalis. It was under his leadership that units of the Peace Committee, Razakars, Al Badr, Al Shams, and Mujahid were formed in police station areas of Pabna district. Witnesses testified that Subhan orchestrated killings, loot, abductions, and other atrocities in various villages with the help of these vigilante groups and Pakistani soldiers. Korban Ali, the sixth prosecution witness, identified Subhan standing in the dock as the man who, brandishing a pistol, had rounded up villagers and shot them, and told the Pakistani soldiers to shoot as well. The tribunal was also told that, during the war, Subhan had prepared and supplied to the Pakistani forces a list of local Awami League leaders and activists and Hindus. Sensing the fall of the Yahya Khan regime towards the end of the independence struggle, he, along with Jamaat guru Golam Azam, went over to Pakistan. Subhan later returned to Bangladesh following a change in the political scenario and went on to become a member of parliament. The case timeline Investigation into Subhan’s war crimes by the prosecution’s investigating officers Motiur Rahman and MdMur Hossain began on Apr 15, 2012. The charge-sheet against the Jamaat leader was filed on Sep 15, 2013. He was arrested at the toll plaza of the Bangabandhu Bridge on Sep 20, 2012. He was was later shown arrested in the war crimes case and sent to jail. The International Crimes Tribunal-1 began Subhan’s trial on Dec 31, 2013 on the basis of nine charges brought against him. The case, however, was shifted to Tribunal-2 on Mar 27, 2014 before the deposition by witnesses had begun. The hearing got under way on Apr 1, 2014 with the opening arguments by prosecutors Sultan Mahmud Simon and Rezia Sultana. Thirty-one witnesses including investigators Motiur Rahman and Md Nur Hossain testified for the prosecution. On the other hand, the defence was unable to produce any witness, although three had been initially named. The tribunal had kept the verdict pending after hearing ended on Dec 4, 2014. –bdnews24.com
