Staff Reporter :The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) will deliver its verdict in the war crime case against Faridpur BNP leader Zahid Hossain Khokon alias Khokon Razakar on Thursday for his alleged crimes against humanity during the country’ Liberation war.The three-member ICT-1, led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim fixed the date on Wednesday.Khokon, 70, is facing a total of 11 charges, including genocide, torture, abduction, rape and confinement. According to the prosecution, Khokon led the Razakar Bahini, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani army, in Faridpur district in 1971.Being the vice-president of Nagarkanda unit BNP, Khokon contested the municipality election in 2011 and became its mayor.After taking the oath, he went into hiding and the investigation agency “assumed” that he is now in Sweden with his son and daughter.He was involved in at least 13 counts of war crimes that left at least 50 people dead, eight others seriously injured and two women raped.Khokon was also involved in forced conversion of Hindus, torching of numerous houses and two temples and deportation of seven people, according to the charges levelled against him.The ICT-1 on July 18 last year accepted 11 charges and also issued an arrest warrant against him. On October 9 of the same year, the tribunal framed 11 war crimes charges against him.The prosecution submitted the charges against Khokon to the tribunal through its registrar’s office on June 23 after the investigation agency designated to probe war crimes completed investigation on May 29.According to the investigation agency, Khokon, who was a close associate of Abul Kalam Azad, a condemned war criminal from Faridpur, had taken part in an election campaign for a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate in 1970.He was involved with the party and later joined the BNP.
