Nizami faces death sentence in the sensational 10-truck arms haul case
The war crimes tribunal is set to pronounce its verdict on Wednesday in the case against Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
The International Crimes Tribunal 1 fixed the date on Tuesday morning.
Earlier, the verdict in the case against the Jamaat top leader was postponed twice. In the latest on June 24, the verdict was postponed due to Nizami’s sickness.
Nizami was indicted on May 28, 2012, on 16 counts of crimes against humanity including rape, murder, abduction and inciting violence committed in Dhaka and Pabna.
The accused allegedly played a key role in setting up Peace Committee and Razakar forces, meant to oppress the pro-liberation Bangalees.
According to the formal charges, Nizami had been the chief of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then Jamaat’s student wing, prior to October in 1971.
Later, he became the chief of All Pakistan Chhatra Sangha.
Militia group al-Badr, which was responsible for the systematic killings of intellectuals, was formed with Chhatra Sangha members.
However, the verdict against Nizami, allegedly a top collaborator of the Pakistani occupation forces, has been delayed for a long time.
On June 24, the ICT 1 deferred the long-awaited verdict due to the sudden illness of the accused.
The jail authorities wrote to the tribunal about the illness only hours before the pronouncement of verdict mentioning that physicians had advised not to move Nizami anywhere.
Nizami, a former industries minister during the BNP-Jamaat’s 2001-06 term, already faces death sentence in the sensational 10-truck arms haul case.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
