
By S.
Binodkumar Singh
July 15,
2019
On June 27,
2019, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) sentenced to death Mahbubur
Rahman (69) for the murder of philanthropist Ranada Prasad Shaha, his son and
58 others during the 1971 Liberation War. The tribunal had framed three charges
against Rahman on March 28, 2018, and the prosecution succeeded in proving the
charges beyond any doubt. According to the first charge, Mahbubur, along with
his father, brother and local Razakars (a prominent pro-Pakistan militia) and
Pakistan Army men, raided the Kumudini Complex in the Mirzapur upazila
(sub-Dsitrict) of Tangail District on May 7, 1971, looking for Shaha. On not
finding him, they humiliated doctors, nurses, teachers, students and employees
there. They then attacked Hindu-dominated villages – Baimhati, Andhara and
Sarishadair – and killed 33 Hindu men. The second charge was that Rahman, along
with local Razakars and Pakistan Army men, raided Shaha’s home at Khanpur
village in Tangail District on May 7, 1971. From there, they abducted five
persons – R.P. Shaha, his son, and three others – and took them to the Adamjee
Burma Eastern Oil Depot. None of the persons abducted have since been traced.
The third charge accused Mahbubur and the Razakars of abducting 24 Hindu
civilians from Mirzapur on May 14, 1971. They were taken to Tangail Circuit
House. 22 detainees were killed while two survived.
On April
24, 2019, ICT-1 handed down the death sentence for the Netrakona war crimes
accused Hedayet Ullah Anju (80) and Sohrab Fakir (88). They were found guilty
on all the six war crimes charges. Sohrab and Hedayet were jailed for 10 years
for plundering, arson attacks and deporting Hindus from Modhukhali village in
the Atpara upazila of Netrakona District on May 29, 1971. Sohrab and Hedayet
were sentenced to death for murdering two villagers after torturing them in
confinement, looting and setting fire to several houses in Mobarakpur village
of Atpara upazila in Netrakona District on August 23, 1971. Separately both were
handed death sentences for murdering Helim Talukder at Madan Dakhinpara village
in Madan upzila of Netrakona District, on August 30, 1971. Sohrab was jailed
for another 10 years for torturing Hamid Hossain of Madan Majpara village in
Madan upzila of Netrakona District after abducting him on September 2, 1971.
They got their third death sentences for committing genocide by killing seven
Hindus in Sukhari village of Atpara upazila in Netrakona District after
abducting and torturing them in confinement on September 3, 1971. Separately,
both were jailed for another 10 years for setting Hindu houses ablaze and
deporting them from Madan Dakhinpara village in Madan upzila of Netrakona
District on September 6, 1971.
On March
28, 2019, ICT-1 sentenced Abdul Majid (70), Abdul KhalekTalukder (71), Kabir
Khan (75), Salam Begh (65) and Nur Uddin (62) to death for their involvement in
crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. The Tribunal found the
convicts guilty on all seven charges framed against them. The tribunal found
Majid, Khalek and Kabir guilty of abduction, looting and murder of three Hindu
men, including one Hem Sundar Bagchi, in Rajpara village of Netrakona District
on May 1, 1971, and sentenced them to imprisonment jail until death. The Court
found Majid and Khalek guilty of abduction, confinement and torture of Abdul
Gani Sarker aka Charu Miah in Barha village of Netrakona District and sentenced
them to 10 years in prison. Majid and Khalek were found guilty of abduction,
torture and murder of one Abdul Khalek of Barha village in Netrakona District
on August 21 and given the death penalty. Majid, Khalek, Salam and Nur Uddin
were also found guilty of abduction, torture and killing of one Mohir Uddin of
the same village on August 27, and awarded the death penalty. All the accused
were found guilty of abduction, torture and killing of four pro-liberation
persons in between November 12 and 16, 1971, in different parts of Purbodhala
upazila in Netrakona District and awarded the death penalty. Further, they were
awarded the death penalty for the abduction, torture and murder of Siraj Mondol
of Purbo Moudam village in Netrakona District on November 20, 1971. Majid,
Khalek and Kabir were found guilty of raping a woman in Purbobudi village of
Netrakona District. The jail terms would naturally be merged into the death
sentence, the tribunal observed.
On November
5, 2018, ICT-1 found Liakat Ali (63) and Aminul Islam aka Rajab Ali (62) guilty
of crimes committed during the Liberation War and sentenced them to death. The
tribunal found the duo guilty on all seven charges framed against them,
including the killing of 43 Hindu men in Krishnapur village under Lakhai
upazila in Habiganj District; killing nine Hindu men in Chandipur village of
Lakhai upazila in Habiganj District and 26 Hindu men in Gadainagar village of Lakhai upazila in Habiganj
District; acts of genocide in Krishnapur, Chandipur and Gadainagar villages of
Lakhai upazila in Habiganj District, which left eight Hindu men dead; the
killing of one Rangu Mia in Nasirnagar village of Kishoreganj District; the
killing of five men in Sabiyanagar village of Kishoreganj District; and the
killing of another 10 men in the same village.
The War
Crimes (WC) Trials, which began on March 25, 2010, have so far indicted 124 leaders,
including 50 from the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI); 27 from the Muslim League (ML); 11
from Nezam-e-Islami (NeI); five from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP);
two each from the Jatiya Party (JP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); 26
former Razakars; and one former Al-Badr member. Verdicts have been delivered
against 88 accused, including 62 death penalties and 26 life sentences. So far,
six of the 62 people who were awarded the death sentence have been hanged. On
September 3, 2016, JeI Central Executive member Mir Quasem Ali (63) was hanged
at Kashimpur Central Jail in Gazipur District; on May 11, 2016, JeI Ameer
(Chief) Motiur Rahman Nizami (75) was executed at Dhaka Central Jail; on
November 22, 2015, JeI Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed (67) and
BNP Standing Committee member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury (66) were hanged
simultaneously at Dhaka Central Jail; on April 11, 2015, JeI Senior Assistant
Secretary General Mohammed Kamaruzzaman (63) was hanged at Dhaka Central Jail;
and on December 12, 2013, JeI Assistant Secretary General Abdul Quader Mollah
(65), who earned the nickname ‘Mirpurer Koshai (Butcher of Mirpur)’ was hanged
at Dhaka Central Jail. 28 others are absconding and another 28 cases are
currently pending with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile,
out of 26 persons who were awarded life sentences, five persons have already
died serving their sentences – former JeI Ameer Ghulam Azam (91), who died on
October 23, 2014; former BNP Minister Abdul Alim (83), who died on August 30,
2014; former JeI National Assembly member S.M. Yousuf Ali (83), who died on
November 17, 2016; former JeI member Gazi Abdul Mannan (88), who died on
December 19, 2016; and former ML member Mahidur Rahman (88), who died on May
21, 2018. 13 others are absconding and another eight are lodged in various
jails of the country.
Significantly,
on July 10, 2019, the four-member bench of the Appellate Division of the
Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, completed hearing
of arguments from both the state and defence on an appeal filed by JeI
Assistant Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam challenging the ICT-1 verdict
that sentenced him to death. On December 30, 2014, ICT-1 had awarded Azharul
Islam a death sentence for his war crimes committed in Rangpur. He was found
guilty on five of six charges. Azharul Islam filed his appeal on January 28,
2015. On June 18, 2019, the Appellate Division started hearings on the appeal.
The Appellate Division can deliver its judgment any day on Azharul Islam’s
appeal.
The
Government is also trying to impound all movable and immovable assets of those
convicted for war crimes in 1971. The demand to strip war criminals of their
assets gained momentum in 2010, when the ICT set up by the Awami League-led
Government began prosecuting Pakistan Army collaborators and war criminals. The
process gained further momentum after a mass movement began at Shahbagh Square
in 2013 to demand the maximum penalty for war criminals. The Government then
promised to formulate new laws to seize assets of those convicted. On September
29, 2016, the Jatiya Sangsad (National Assembly) unanimously adopted a
resolution to confiscate all movable and immovable assets of war criminals.
Further, on January 17, 2019, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Anisul Huq disclosed that the process for seizing the properties of the
families of war criminals had been finalized.
Notably,
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq, after inaugurating the
Muktijoddha (Freedom Fighters) Complex in Pabna District on June 29, 2019,
declared that the Home Ministry was preparing a list of Razakars, who were
involved in killing, arson and other crimes against humanity during the
country’s Liberation War in 1971. He further stated that the graveyards of the
freedom fighters across the country would be preserved in the same pattern to
show homage to them. According to the War Crimes Facts Finding Committee,
Bangladesh, there are about 5,000 mass graves across the country, where the Pakistan
Army and its collaborators conducted genocide in 1971.
The JeI,
which opposed Bangladesh’s birth, had already been in trouble after its senior
leaders were handed down punishments for crimes against humanity. The Dhaka
High Court, on August 1, 2013, in a landmark ruling, declared
"illegal" Bangladesh's biggest right-wing party, JeI, and banned it
from contesting future polls, leaving the once-most powerful fundamentalist
party with an uncertain future. Further, the Election Commission (EC) cancelled
the party’s registration on October 28, 2018. Citing its failure to apologise
for its role in the 1971 War and bring reforms to its constitution, on February
15, 2019, JeI Assistant Secretary General Abdur Razzaq quit the party. The
following day, JeI’s Majlish-e-Shura (Central Governing Body) member Mojibur
Rahman Monju, who had been vocal about reforms, was expelled from JeI for
“breaching discipline” and “anti-party activities”. Over the following days,
several other JeI leaders were expelled on similar grounds. On April 27, 2019,
a group of former JeI leaders launched a new political initiative, the Jana
Aakangkhar Bangladesh (JAB) headed by Mojibur Rahman Monju. The move came
following differences of opinion within JeI over reforms and whether it would apologise
to the nation for opposing the 1971 Liberation War.
Meanwhile,
bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan have been strained since
2013, when Dhaka decided to hang several of the 1971 war criminals, and have
plummeted further after March 26, 2019, as Bangladesh sought United Nations
(UN) recognition for one of the world's worst genocides, conducted by Pakistan
Army, commencing on the fateful night of March 25, 1971, against the citizens
of what was then East Pakistan. On March 25, 1971, upon secret order from
Pakistan authorities, under ‘Operation Searchlight’, Pakistani Forces and their
collaborators committed the most brutal and targeted mass killing in Dhaka City
in particular and elsewhere in country, which continued throughout the night.
Thousands of people from all walks of life, including students, teachers,
intellectuals, religious minorities and members of different services,
especially from the Police and the then East Pakistan Rifles, were slaughtered.
Recognising
the genocide committed by Pakistani Forces during the 1971 Bangladesh war of
independence, Adama Dieng, the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the
Prevention of Genocide, on March 24, 2019, pledged to Bangladesh Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina, “Though some countries may oppose, we will raise the issue of
Pakistani genocide in Bangladesh during the Liberation War in the international
forum.” Dieng visited Bangladesh ahead of the country’s Independence Day on
March 26.
The
achievements on the War Crimes Trials in Bangladesh are already remarkable. The
new verdicts against the guilty have once again reaffirmed the Awami League-led
Government’s determination to honour its 2008 General Election pledge to bring
the War Criminals of the 1971 genocide to justice. However, as a number of
cases are pending with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, the
eventual conclusion of the trials and appeals is far from over.
S.
Binodkumar Singh is a Research Associate; Institute for Conflict Management
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/the-war-within-islam/s-binodkumar-singh/bangladesh-liberation-war---relentless-justice-for-involvement-in-crimes-against-humanity/d/119198