A new prosecution witness (PW) on Monday testified against Jamaat leader Mir Quasem Ali, saying the accused had threatened to cut him in pieces and dump them in the river Karnaphuli during the War of Liberation. “Mir Quasem grilled me in Al-Badr camp situated in infamous Dalim Hotel and repeatedly asked about the whereabouts of the Freedom Fighters (FFs). He said to me, ‘Tell me what you know, or else I will cut you in pieces and dump those in the river Karnaphuli. After he failed in squeezing any information from me, he told his followers to beat me more,” said Salauddin alias Chuttu Miah.
Salauddin, a 60-year-old decoration worker, submitted his deposition as PW-9, at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2. Salauddin, nephew of PW-8, Eskender Alam Chowdhury, corroborated the deposition of his uncle.
“I along with my uncles Eskender and Jakaria, and cousins Nazim and Jafar were abducted by Al-Badr men at dawn on November 30, 1971. They took us to Dalim Hotel along with some others. There, they put us on immense torture,” the witness said.
After his brief deposition, Advocate Mizanul Islam, counsel for Quasem cross-examined him. After Salauddin, his uncle Jakaria followed him on dock. He too submitted his deposition in support of charge number 10.
Md Jakaria, 72, testified as PW-10 and described the torture they went through in Dalim Hotel in the hands of Mir Quasem and his men during the War of Liberation.
After his deposition, the defence counsel cross-examined him too and the ICT-2 adjourned the hearing till tomorrow. The ICT-1 on August 29, 2013, framed a total of fourteen charges of crimes against humanity against Mir Quasem.
