War crimes accused BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was on Monday barred from making his deposition as defence witness by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 as it goes beyond his claim of alibi. Interrupting DW-1 Salauddin Quader, the tribunal said, ”We don’t understand the mode you make your deposition which appears to prove false the evidence made against you by the prosecution witnesses. Your counsel will get the scope of rebutting the evidence of the prosecution witnesses during the argument stage,” said the tribunal. “There’s no scope for the DW to argue for discrediting the evidence against the accused made by the prosecution witnesses.”
At this point, designated prosecutor Zead Al Malum backing the tribunal stance said the status of the DW is decided under the International Crimes Tribunal rules of procedure.
Referring to ICT rule 50 (1), prosecutor Malum argued that the onus of proof as to the plea of ‘alibi’ or any particular fact or information which is in the possession or knowledge of the defence shall be upon the defence.
So, the deposition already made by the DW before the tribunal encountering the evidence of the prosecution witnesses should be expunged from the trial proceedings, he said.
Hearing the prosecutor, the tribunal asked Salauddin Quader to prove his plea of alibi defending against the charges referring to the incidents.
“You place the charges made against you and deny your involvement in the incidents, referring to the facts of the case,” said the tribunal.
Earlier, the accused told the tribunal that during the Liberation War he had left Dhaka on March 29, 1971 for Karachi, West Pakistan by a PIA flight and stayed in different places, including Multan and Lahore.
The DW further said later on October 12, 1971, he along with his friends left Lahore for London by a car traveling through Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungry, Austria, Germany, Holland and France and reached the destination in the second week of November 1971 and joined Lincoln’s Inn.
During his deposition, Salauddin Quader alleged that some of his friends with whom he spent time in Pakistan during the Liberation War have expressed their intention to depose before the tribunal as DWs, but Bangladesh High Commission in Islamabad denied visas to them.
As the DW incompliance with the tribunal’s order could not complete his deposition on the 8th day Monday, the tribunal said, “We had expected that you’ll finish your deposition by today. We hope you’ll conclude it on Tuesday.”
Before adjourning the trial proceedings, the tribunal asked Fakhrul Islam, the counsel for Salauddin Quader, to bring at least one DW out of allotted four for deposition. – UNB
