The International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Sunday asked Mizanul Islam, the defence counsel for war crimes accused detained Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, to appear before it on Monday availing the facility of police escort during hartal hours.
The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, passed the order following a petition seeking a three-day adjournment on the ground of ‘unavoidable circumstances, which is beyond his control’, moved by a defence panel lawyer.
The designated prosecutor Mohammad Ali opposed the defence plea of adjournment terming it a ploy to delay the trial.
He mentioned that the defence counsel did not ask for any available standby police escort in this regard.
Moving the adjournment petition, junior defence lawyer M Asaduddin told the tribunal that it is obvious that his senior cannot appear before the tribunal to defend his client taking the risk of life amid hartal.
“What would happen if the hartal continues,” asked the tribunal, interrupting the lawyer.
Parrying the question, Advocate Asaduddin said that the tribunal had earlier allowed such adjournment during hartal hours.
In March this year, the tribunal by an order made the police escort facility available for the lawyers from both sides on way to the tribunal from house and also on return during hartal hours to run the trial smoothly.
On Sunday, accused Nizami’s son Barrister Nazibur Rahman as Defence Witness (DW-4) was supposed to place additional documents before the tribunal in support of his evidence followed by cross-examination.
Neither senior counsel Mizanul nor the DW-4 did turn up in the tribunal on the pretext of countrywide non-stop 60-hartal that began at 6 am today (Sunday), enforced by BNP led 18-party alliance to press home their demand for non-party caretaker government during the upcoming parliamentary polls.
Police brought accused Nizami to the tribunal amid tight security.
A former minister during the past BNP-Jamaat rule, Nizami is being tried on charges of involvement in murders and torture of unarmed people along with hatching conspiracy, planning, incitement and complicity to commit genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War in collaboration with the Pakistan occupation army.
Also the president of Islami Chhatra Sangha (ICS), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami in 1971, Nizami faces 16 counts of charges based on 16 separate incidents of crimes against humanity, in which at least 600 unarmed people were killed and 31 women raped during the Liberation War.
On May 28, 2012, the tribunal indicted the Jamaat ameer for committing the 1971 crimes against humanity.
On June 29, 2010, Nizami was arrested in front of the National Press Club after a magistrate court in Dhaka issued warrant of arrest in connection with a criminal case over hurting religious sentiment of Muslims. Later, he was shown arrested in connection with the war crimes case.
Source: UNBConnect
