The International Crimes Tribunal will pronounce on Tuesday its verdict on Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami who has been charged with ‘crimes against humanity’ during the 1971 Liberation War.
Justice M Enayetur Rahim, chairman of the International Crimes Tribunal-1, gave the order on Monday.
Nizami, now the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, is charged with 16 counts of war crimes including murder, rape, looting, abetment and the massacre of Bengali intellectuals during Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.
The case’s hearing ended in November last year but ICT-1 ordered fresh arguments in the case last month in response to a defence petition filed for the sake of ‘justice’.
Born in 1943 at Mohammadpur village of Pabna’s Santhiya Upazila, Nizami was the head of the East-Pakistan unit of Jamaat’s student affiliate, Islami Chhatra Shangha, during the 1971 Liberation War.
He headed the ‘Al Badr’ militia until September, 1971 after which he became a member of Jamaat.
Nizami’s trial began on May 28, 2012 after his arrest on July 29, 2010 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments..
On Aug 2, 2010, he was shown arrested for committing crimes against humanity.
On Dec 11, 2012, the prosecution brought specific charges against Nizami and on Dec 28 the court took them into cognisance.
The charges against him include killing of 70 people and torching 72 houses in December, 1971 at Brishalika village in Pabna’s Bera Upazila, murdering 450 people in Demra and Baushia villages, killing several more in front of a Hindu temple at Kormocha village of Santhiya Upazila.
Nizami is accused of playing a key role in setting up the Peace Committee and Razakar Force, meant for oppressing pro-liberation Bengalis.
Witnesses began to depose in the trial from Aug 26 last year.
The prosecution produced a total of 26 witnesses.
The Jamaat backed the Pakistan army’s effort to crush the Bengali uprising in 1971 and its activists were involved in horrific crimes .
After Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power in Jan 2009, her government set up two tribunals to try those accused of ‘crimes against humanity’ during the 1971 Liberation war.
Almost the entire top leadership of the Jamaat-e-Islami, including Nizami, stands accused of such crimes.
Nizami has already been sentenced to death by a special tribunal in the 2004 Chittagong arms cases.
The tribunal has found him guilty of complicity in trying to smuggle in a huge quantity of weapons through the port city while he was Industry Minister in the Khaleda Zia-led government.
Source: Bd news24
