Verdict in Jamaat Ameer Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami’s war crimes case has been deferred. The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 on Tuesday made the announcement of deferral due to Nizami’s illness.
“The tribunal has decided to keep the case CAV (waiting for verdict) again, as it is not logical to pronounce the judgment in absence of Nizami,” said Justice M Enayetur Rahim, chairman of the ICT-1. The tribunal made the decision after hearing the opinions of both the prosecution and defence lawyers on the basis of a letter of Dhaka Jail authorities. The tribunal was scheduled to deliver the verdict on Tuesday. It set the date Monday. Earlier in the morning, the jail authorities sent the letter to the tribunal’s registrar office informing that Nizami was physically unfit to be taken to the tribunal. The ICT-1 made the postponement order after the letter was placed before the three-judge panel. The tribunal also ordered the jail authorities to submit a full report on Nizami’s health condition as soon as possible.
Defence lawyer Tazul Islam said that there is no provision in the ICT act to deliver the verdict in absence of the accused, so the tribunal passed the order on this basis. State prosecutor Barrister Tureen Afroz said that the tribunal deferred the verdict maintaining the general principle of natural justice. “There is no such specified provision that an accused has to be present in the tribunal at the time of reading the verdict. The tribunal gave importance to the general principle of natural justice,” she said.
M Forman Ali, senior jail super of Dhaka Central Jail, said that Nizami suddenly became sick on Monday night, as his blood pressure was high. Later, doctors gave him medicine. The doctors again checked him on Tuesday morning and advised the jail authorities to keep the Jamaat leader on complete bed rest, not to move him until further advice.
After the tribunal’s order, prison doctors examined the ailing Jamaat leader in the afternoon at the Dhaka Central Jail. They advised ‘close observation’ for him, resulting in the postponement of his war crimes trial verdict.
The 71-year-old Nizami, also former lawmaker and minister, was shifted to Dhaka Central Jail from Kashimpur Jail on Monday. He is facing 16 charges including looting, killing, rape, arson, torture and confinement of people during the Liberation War in 1971. He was arrested on June 29 in 2010 in a case filed in connection with hurting religious sentiments of the Muslims. He has already been awarded death penalty in the 10-truck arms haul.
