Librarians’ Note: This E-Library is maintained by the War Crimes Strategy Forum (WCSF), a strategic coalition of activists and organisations sharing the common goal of assisting the prosecution of war criminals of Bangladesh 1971. Only the members registered to this site will enjoy FULL-TEXT download-access to the entries. It is advised that you open your free-account today by clicking the Registration link. To be able to download full-text of the items stored on this library, or to add new items, you will need additional user-rights which can be requested from the Library-Admin at the Feedback-Address. You are also welcome to suggest new records to the library database. We hope the resources made available on this site will facilitate serious research of high standard on issues relating to the Liberation War of Bangladesh and the prosecution of war criminals.

Baxter, Craig, and Syedur Rahman. Historical Dictionary of Bangladesh. London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1989.

Abstract: History of Bangladesh including timeline, biography of relevant personalities and a bibliography regarding Bangladesh. This book also contains list of administrative personnel governing Bangladesh since British period.

টাবি, আলী আকবর. মুক্তিযুদ্ধে দৈনিক সংগ্রামের ভূমিকা (১). ঢাকা: বর্ণবিন্যাস, 1992.

Abstract: Pages 1-43 of the book. A compilation of Daily Sangram’s coverage during the 1971 war, with relevant commentary by the author. The newspaper served as one of the mouth pieces of Jamat-i-Islami, the party that collaborated with the invading West Pakistani army and has actively participated in genocide and crimes against humanity.

টাবি, আলী আকবর. মুক্তিযুদ্ধে দৈনিক সংগ্রামের ভূমিকা (২). ঢাকা: বর্ণবিন্যাস, 1992.

Abstract: Pages 44-81 of the book. A compilation of Daily Sangram’s coverage during the 1971 war, with relevant commentary by the author. The newspaper served as one of the mouth pieces of Jamat-i-Islami, the party that collaborated with the invading West Pakistani army and has actively participated in genocide and crimes against humanity.

টাবি, আলী আকবর. মুক্তিযুদ্ধে দৈনিক সংগ্রামের ভূমিকা (৩). ঢাকা: বর্ণবিন্যাস, 1992.

Abstract: Pages 82-127 of the book. A compilation of Daily Sangram’s coverage during the 1971 war, with relevant commentary by the author. The newspaper served as one of the mouth pieces of Jamat-i-Islami, the party that collaborated with the invading West Pakistani army and has actively participated in genocide and crimes against humanity.

Tiba, Firew K. “The Mengistu Genocide Trial in Ethiopia.” Journal of International Criminal Justice (2007): 1-16.

Abstract: This article analyses the sentencing judgment issued on 11 January 2007 by the Ethiopian Federal High Court in the case of Mengistu Hailemariam and his co-accused who had been tried, among others, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. This was the first African trial where an entire regime was brought to justice before a national court for atrocities committed while in power. Twenty-five of the 55 accused found guilty, including Mengistu, were tried in absentia (Mengistu remains in exile in Zimbabwe). The trial took 12 years, making it one of the longest ever trials for genocide. In December 2006, Mengistu was convicted by majority vote of genocide and crimes against humanity pursuant to Article 281of the1957 Ethiopian Penal Code, which includes ‘political groups’among the groups protected against genocide. A dissenting judge took the position that the accused should have been convicted of aggravated homicide because the relevant part of the provision had been repealed. A few weeks later, the Court, by majority, sentenced the top tier of the accused to life imprisonment, taking into account certain extenuating circumstances. If not for these, the death penalty could have been imposed. In addition to ensuring some accountability, the judgment is important for providing an official and detailed account of what happened in those years in Ethiopia under Mengistu’s reign. Given that in Ethiopia there are no official gazettes where court judgments are published, it is unlikely that the public will be able to read the judgment and thus become aware of what had happened. In addition to analysing the reasoning of the court, this article also looks into the prevailing political circumstances in the country and reflects upon the trial and the reception that this important decision has had, and will receive, in the wider community.

Drumbl, Mark A. “Rule of Law Amid Lawlessness: Counselling the Accused in Rwanda’s Domestic Genocide Trials.” Colum. Hum. Rts. L. Rev.. 29 (1998): 545-641.

Abstract: All that a trial can do and all that it should do is determine the objective truth about the guilt or innocence of the person who is accused. As the Rwandan prosecutor says “Death sentences must be carried out so that Rwandans understand the life of a person cannot be trampled on”. Few trials are as poignant as those in which the prisoner stands accused of crimes against humanity or genocide.The victim is not one, or many, but us all. The court, however, is generally not a universal court, but a victor’s court. Owing to the ethnic identifications of the oppressor and oppressed, at the moment it was perpetrated the crime was not a crime under municipal law. Over time, if the victims of genocide find victory or liberation, their suffering becomes officially criminalized and, therefore, legally sanctionable as well as morally reprehensible.

Kritz, Neil J. “Coming to Terms with Atrocities: A Review of Accountability Mechanisms for Mass Violations of Human Rights.” Law and Contemporary Problems. 59.4 (1996): 127-152.

Abstract: The author discusses some accountability measure with regards to trial of war crimes.There is no optimal measure, rather a mix of measure has to be considered. Each society emerging from genocide, war crimes, or sustained mass repression will need to find the specific approach or combination of mechanisms that will best help it achieve the optimal level of justice and reconciliation.

Gorgone, Kerry O’Shea. “Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: Facing History After Genocide and Mass Violence – by Martha Minow.” Suffolk Transnational Law Review. 24.1 (2001): 211-232.

Abstract: Book Review. In the book the author considers the benefits and shortcomings of trials, truth commissions and reparations as responses to mass atrocity.After a thorough evaluation, Minow finds each alternative lacking.Minow also explores the concepts of vengeance, forgiveness, memory and forgetting as each relates to individual victims and nations.This review critiques Minow’s analysis and comments upon her conclusions regarding the efficacy of trials, truth commissions and reparations to heal individuals and societies after mass violence and genocide.