The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Monday expressed its disappointment as the designated prosecutor’s failure to guide its witness testifying against accused Al Badr commander ATM Azharul Islam facing war crimes trial.
Pointing at prosecutor AKM Saiful Islam who was on his legs, the tribunal said, “Your purpose is to guide your witness properly without putting any leading question. Instead, you’re apparently putting leading questions to get answers from your witness, resulting in defence objection.”
The tribunal further said: “During the deposition of any witness, as a guide you must go through the sequence of the statement of your witness. Don’t ask your witness to provide any inconsistent statement breaking the sequence of the sentence. And it’s your duty how you’ll get your evidence recorded properly.”
In reply, the prosecutor admitted that the PW appearing in the witness box behaves with him errantly.
Finally, the prosecutor made efforts to handle his PW-5 Mohammad Abdur Rahman during the remaining period to take his deposition recorded keeping the track of sequence exhausting unusual time. The deposition remained inconclusive.
Son of a martyred, PW Abdur Rahman during his deposition corroborated the evidence of freedom fighter PW-4 M Meser Uddin, also a retired teacher of a Degree College, over the Jharuarbeel massacre perpetrated by the Pakistan occupation forces in collaboration with Azharul and his cohorts, killing over 1200 unarmed civilians, mostly members of the Hindu community.
He said the residents of six villages had taken refuge in Jharuarbeel before the genocide unleashed.
The perpetrators had arrived earlier by two trains and advanced towards Jharuarbeel firing gunshots and burning down the houses on both sides of the road, said the PW, who had seen the incident from a nearby bush.
On November 12 last year, the tribunal dismissed the discharge plea filed by the accused and framed charges against ATM Azharul Islam, a commander of 1971 Al Badr, for his involvement in crimes against humanity, including genocide, during the Liberation War.
Also a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, Azharul faces six counts of charges of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War like killing, abduction, confinement, torture, loot, arson, rape and genocide in Rangpur district.
A week after submitting the formal charge by the prosecution, the tribunal on July 25 took cognisance of the charge against the Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general as it found a strong prima facie case against the accused under subsections 3(2) and 4(1) (2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973.
According to the prosecution case, Azharul, the then Islami Chhatra Sangha (ICS) president of Rangpur district unit, had been involved in the killing of more than 1,200 unarmed innocent civilians in Rangpur during the Liberation War in collaboration with the Pakistan occupation army and its auxiliary force like Al Badr.
It mentioned that Azharul Islam had played a key role in the killing of intellectuals, cultural personalities, physicians and lawyers in different areas of Rangpur during the 1971 war.
On August 22, 2012, police arrested Azharul from his Moghbazar house in the capital in connection with the war crimes case, hours after the tribunal issued a warrant for his arrest following a prosecution plea.
Source: UNBConnect
In 1971 there was no independent state of Bangladesh in existence. As such it was an emotionally motivated political statement of the government prosecution to say Pakistan army was ” AN OCCUPATION ARMY”