The International Crimes Tribunnal-2 in its 6th judgment on Sunday unanimously found Al Badr operators Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan guilty of crimes against humanity, including killing of intellectuals during the Liberation War in 1971, and condemned the fugitive duo to death. ICT chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan, flanked by its two other members — Justice M Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice M Shahinur Islam — pronounced the verdict at 12:47 pm in a jam-packed courtroom amid tight security in and around the tribunal at the century-old High Court building. “We’re of the unanimous view that there would be failure of justice in case ‘capital punishment’ is not awarded for all the murders forming ‘large scale killing’, as listed in all the charges as the same indubitably trembles the collective conscience of mankind,” said the tribunal. It further said: “Keeping (that) in mind we’re of agreed view that justice would be met if for the crimes as listed in all the 11 charges the duo accused who have been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt are condemned to a ‘single sentence of death’ under section 20(2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals ) Act 1973.” The summary of the 154-page judgment was read out by the members of the ICT in phases exhausting 100 minutes. The judgment was delivered at the ICT-1 due to accommodation problem in the ICT-2. Since the convicts are on the run, the tribunal order said the capital punishment shall be executed after their arrest or on their surrender before the designated tribunal, whichever is earlier. Referring to section 20 (3) of the ICT Act 1973, the tribunal in its order said the sentence awarded shall be carried out in accordance with the orders of the government. Since Bangladesh’s independence, war criminal Mueen, hails from village Chandpur under Dagonbhuiyan upazila in Feni district, has been living in London while Ashraf from village Muksudpur of Gopalganj district, in the USA. The tribunal in its judgment found guilty of all the 11 charges made against Mueen, Al Badr operation in-charge and Ashrafuzaman, Al Badr chief executor for killing 18 intellectuals at the fag end of the War of Liberation against the Pakistan occupation forces. Those made victims to the Al Badr, the vigilante group of Jamaat-e-Islami, are martyred journalists Serajuddin Hossain of the daily Ittefaq, Syed Najmul Huq of PPI and Columbia Broadcasting Service (CBS), ANM Golam Mostafa of daily Purbodesh, Nizamuddin Ahmed of BBC and Selina Pervin of Shilalipi, Dhaka University teachers Giasuddin Ahmed, Sirajul Huq Khan, M Murtoza, Abul Khair, Foyezul Mohiuddin , Rashoidul Hassan , Anwar Pasha, Santosh Bhattacharya , Munier Chowdhury and Mofazzel Haider Chowdhury, physicians Fazle Rabbi and Abdul Alim. Closing law-point arguments from both sides a month ago in the trial of the 1971 war crimes allegedly committed by absconding Al Badr operators Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan, the tribunal kept the verdict pending for any day. On June 24, the tribunal indicted the duo accused in absentia for their involvement in crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War. Before framing charges against fugitive accused Mueen and Ashraf, the tribunal considered 11 charges trimming the remaining four offences as brought by the prosecution which fall under subsections 3(2) (a) (b) (g) (h) and 4 (1) and 4(2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. The charges include abduction, confinement, persecution, killing and murder of the country’s intellectuals at the fag end of the Liberation War. According to the prosecution, Mueen and Ashraf, the duo operators of Al Badr, a vigilante group of Jamaat-e-Islami created from its the then student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha (ICS), had perpetrated the war crimes in a bid to eliminate the pro-liberation, innocent and unarmed people of occupied Bangladesh. They had also hatched a conspiracy in collaboration with the Pakistan junta to eliminate the intellectuals just before the birth of Bangladesh. Emerging from the tribunal, Anirban Mostafa, son of martyred journalist ANM Golam Mostafa and now a professor at Khulna University, flanked by his wife, Prof Afroza Pervin, of the same university, said, “I heave a sigh of relief after 42 years that I have got justice. And I do hope that all the verdicts pronounced by the ICTs against the war criminals will be executed.” Prof Anirban, who has been deprived of his father’s adore and affection as he was only nine months old in 1971 when his father was killed, told UNB, “I appreciate and express my gratitude to the government for its efforts to bring the war crimes perpetrators to justice.” Syed Haider Ali, Sahidur Rahman and Dr Tureen Afroz appeared for the prosecution while Abdus Shukur Khan and Salma Hye Tuni stood for absconding accused Mueen and Ashraf as state-appointed defence counsel. – UNB
