The defence counsel on Thursday accused the Prime Minister’s Office of planning the war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami out of political vengeance. “It’s purely a politically-motivated case designed and planned by the Prime Minister’s Office, and the office of the Director General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) has taken the responsibility of its implementation,” Mizanul Islam, the defence counsel for the accused, the 1971 villainous Al Badr commander-in-chief, made the accusation during the rehearing on summing-up of their case. With his detained client in the dock, defence counsel Mizanul, in support of his contention, told the three-member International Crimes Tribunal-1 that Nizami had been branded as a war criminal before the allegation was made properly. Besides, Nizami has been debarred by the Constitution, the supreme law of the Republic, from invoking before the higher courts to put into effect his fundamental rights enjoyed by an ordinary citizen, the moment he was made accused in the case of crimes against humanity during the Liberation War under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973, said the defence counsel. Terming conflicting the constitutional bar curtailing fundamental rights of an accused facing the charges of war crimes and the ICT Act, Mizanul contended that such a situation has created a catch-22 situation for the accused in getting a fair trial which the tribunal is bound to ensure, referring to section 6 (2A) of the ICT Act that says: “The tribunal shall be independent in the exercise of its judicial functions and shall ensure fair trial.” The defence counsel was very critical of the formal charge submitted by the prosecution before the tribunal, terming it erroneous with distorted facts and documents without scrutiny, especially about the formation of auxiliary forces of the Pakistan occupation army like Razakar and Al Badr. Mizanul said the Investigation Agency under the ICTs had played ‘dishonesty’ in recording complaints against Nizami ensued from a criminal case filed under the penal code with Pallabi Police Station in the capital. The Investigation Office (IO) of the case had failed to submit the war crimes case against Nizami according to general principles in respect of filing the cases, said Mizanul, adding, “I never heard that an IO can continue investigation after submitting the formal charge of the case.” Firing a broadside at the evidence of Prosecution Witness (PW-1) Misbahur Rahman Chowdhury, an ICS cadre in 1971, the defence counsel called in question about the veracity of his evidence, terming him as a political tout and extortionist. “Misbahur, a fake Maulana, has no credibility.” The rehearing defence summing-up arguments remained inconclusive. Before rising, Justice M Enayetur Rahim, the chairman of the tribunal, allocated the defence counsel more two full days (Mar 19-20) to wrap up arguments on the case with law points. A former minister during the past BNP-Jamaat rule, Nizami, since condemned to death in the Chittagong 10-truck arms haul case, faces 16 counts of charges based on 16 separate incidents of crimes against humanity, in which at least 600 unarmed people were killed and 31 women raped during the Liberation War. The prosecution, however, did not press one charge (charge No. 5–Ishwardi mass killing) as they failed to produce its witnesses. On May 28, 2012, the tribunal indicted the Jamaat chief for committing crimes against humanity, including genocide and killing of intellectuals, to make the country intellectually bankrupt at the fag end of the Liberation War, knowing their ignominious defeat. Nizami was arrested in front of the Jatiya Press Club on June 29, 2010, after a magistrate court in Dhaka issued a warrant of arrest in connection with a criminal case over hurting the religious sentiment of Muslims. Later, responding to a prosecution plea, the tribunal on July 22 the same year shown him arrested in the war crimes case. – UNB
