The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on Thursday indicted AKM Yusuf, nayeb-e-ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami, now in custody, for his ‘involvement’ in crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
Passing the order, the three-member tribunal set September 5 for starting the formal trial with the opening statement by the prosecution, and asked the prosecution to submit the list of its witnesses for examination, dismissing the defence lawyer’s discharge petition.
Before framing charges against the accused, the tribunal considered 13 out of 15 charges of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War as proposed by the prosecution on May 8, which fall under sections 3(2), 4 (1) and 4 (2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973.
Founder of the notorious Razakar outfit during the 1971 Liberation War, Yusuf, now 87, also the second man in the hierarchy of Jamaat leadership, faces charges, including genocide, killing, loot, arson, deportation of people and religious conversion.
Appearing in the dock, accused Yusuf, pleaded not guilty and sought justice after ICT Chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan read out the charges against him.
According to the prosecution, Jamaat leader Yusuf, a member of the Malek cabinet in occupied Bangladesh, a rubberstamp government backed by the Pakistan junta, had formed for the first time in Khulna in 1971 the vigilante group Razakar with the members of Jamaat-e-Islami that acted as an auxiliary force of the Pakistan occupation army to actively thwart the Bangladesh liberation forces. Yusuf had also acted as the chairman of the Peace Committee (Collaborator) at Bagerhat, Satkhira and Khulna districts during the Liberation War.
