With days passing by both the defence and the prosecution counsel are getting intolerant slipping away from professional gesture during the trial of 1971 war crimes resulting in humiliation of witnesses on both sides.The three-member tribunal that deals with the cases of crimes against humanity during the Liberation War on Tuesday witnessed vituperative exchange of words delivered by both the defence and prosecution lawyers over selection of their respective witnesses making the proceedings environment unpleasant.
During the cross-examination of Nizam Ahmed, a defence witness (DW-2) for detained BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to prove the plea of alibi of the accused, a defence lawyer made a remark stating that the prosecution had chosen the sons of ‘women beggars’ as its witnesses that raised a serious objection by the prosecution side.
Instantly, encountering the remark of the defence counsel, a prosecutor asked the defence side whether their DW represents the family of Zamindars.
Replying to the prosecution, a defence lawyer said the DW was the son of Badrunnesa Ahmed who was the State Minister for Education in the post-independence government of Awami League led by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujubur Rahman.
“So what! You (the defence) have brought a black sheep in the witness box,” retorted a prosecutor.
Protesting the statement made by the prosecutor, a defence counsel drew attention to the tribunal saying, “Such remark is very unfortunate vilifying the late member of the Bangabandhu Cabinet.”
During the cross-examination, DW-2 Nizam Ahmed told the tribunal that he knew Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, father of the his friend Salauddin Quader, as the leader of Muslim League during Pakistan period who was made Education Minister in the Ayub Khan cabinet and also acting president of Pakistan as Speaker of National Assembly while President Ayub had been abroad. – UNB
