Ahmed Ziauddin

A tribunal in Dhaka on Sunday disposed of a contempt of court rule it had issued against Ahmed Ziauddin, a Bangladeshi legal expert in Belgium, with some observations.
The observation of the International Crimes Tribunal-2, the second of two set up to deal with 1971 war crimes, however was not known immediately.
Disposing of the rule, the three-member tribunal led by Justice Obaidul Hassan said: “We have gone through the written replies (submitted by Ziauddin) and we are not initiating any proceedings against him.”
Earlier in the first …

A witness yesterday said Pakistani occupational army with the help of local razakars took three brothers of his neighbourhood to ‘Goods Hill’ residence of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s father on July 27, 1971.
One of the brothers was killed there while two others were released after torture, he said.
The 35th prosecution witness told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that he had heard the matter on July 28, 1971 from the brothers who were released on that day.
The witness — Kamal Uddin alias Kalam Uddin, 59, of Purba Shikarpur Rashidbari …

US criminal justice envoy happy with war trial progress but stays worried too
Stephen Rapp, US Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues, has expressed satisfaction over the war crimes trials in Bangladesh but at the same time has said the process has not fully maintained international standards.
“Though there have been improvements and progress, I still have concerns about the process and further improvement could help ensure that international standards are met,” he said at a press conference at the American Centre yesterday.
Wrapping up his two-day visit to …

Ahmed Ziauddin, a Bangladeshi legal expert in Belgium, on Monday submitted his reply to a show-cause notice issued against him by a tribunal in Dhaka for “obstructing the fair process of the war crimes trial”.
Chairman of ICT-2 Justice Obaidul Hassan acknowledged receipt of the reply, saying that the tribunal will pass an order on it on May 19.
Content of the submission could not be known immediately.
On January 3, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 issued the notice asking Ziauddin to explain why legal proceeding would not be …

War crimes charges: murder, abduction, torture, loot
Mobarak Hossain, former Jamaat-e-Islami member who later got affiliated with ruling Awami League, has been charged with committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday framed five charges against Mobarak in five specific incidents of murder, abduction, confinement, torture and loot. At least 36 people were killed and two others tortured in those incidents occurring between August 22 and November 29 in 1971.
The 62-year-old accused, who got involved with Jamaat-e-Islami during …

2 maimed BCL men tell Star their story of horror in Chapainawabganj
Injured Hitol

Injured Jumma

As the clock struck 10:30pm, Razin and Hitol decided to return home. The two — both leaders of Chhatra League — on a bike headed for home from Shibganj Bazar in Chapainawabganj, not knowing what lurked on the way.
When they arrived near Vanga Bridge area, around 10 alleged Jamaat-Shibir men, appearing from the nearby mango orchards, waylaid them. In no time, they started hacking the duo with machetes and other sharp …

BNP must give written proposal for talks, says Hanif
The Awami League yesterday advised Hefajat-e Islam to form a political party before speaking about political agendas.
People do not want to see political activities on the part of a religious organisation, AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told a press conference at the Dhanmondi office of party chief Sheikh Hasina.
He dismissed any possibility of restoring the caretaker government system ahead of the next parliamentary elections and came down hard on several formulas recently floated by different …

Angry at soft programme, main opposition decides not to support its hartal today

Just a day’s hartal called by the Hefajat-e Islam appears to have upset the BNP, which wanted tougher action from the Islamist group to make April a turning point in the opposition alliance’s oust-govt movement.
The main opposition party had expected that Hefajat men from their Motijheel rally on Saturday would announce agitation programmes such as non-stop shutdowns or sit-ins for several days.
It also decided to support Hefajat actions and supplement those by enforcing more …

Dismisses possibility of emergency, defends recent cop action, rejects CG restoration demand
Sheikh Hasina speaks to the BBC’s Anbarasan Ethirajan during an exclusive interview in Dhaka. Photo: BBC Online

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has firmly rejected the demand for a new anti-blasphemy law to punish those who defame Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Reacting to Hefajat-e Islam’s demand for such a law, Hasina said during an interview with the BBC that existing laws were sufficient to punish anyone who attempted to insult religion.
Her comments came a day after hundreds of thousands …

Restraint and sincere engagement need of the hour
THE massive gatherings in Dhaka and Chittagong organised by Hefajat-e-Islam have made a powerful statement. It has strongly voiced its resentment against the Shahbagh bloggers and government’s alleged obstructionist policy towards their long march.
The government’s duplicitous approach of allowing Hefajat-e-Islam’s long march programme including rally at Shapla Chattar vis-à-vis cutting off the capital city from the rest of the country gave a wrong signal about its sincerity. This was accompanied by a 24-hour hartal that 25 …

In desperation, Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir are applying various strategies to occupy Paltan or any other important intersections of the capital to offset the Shahbagh movement.
Their techniques include not wearing their traditional outfit — pyjama and punjabi — during their “operations,” police and Jamaat sources say.
“Apart from this strategy, Jamaat-Shibir has recently decided to mobilise activists and intellectuals from other Islamic organisations, especially those patronised by Jamaat,” a top detective told The Daily Star on Wednesday.
Law enforcement agencies say Jamaat was …

“These slogans and songs have rejuvenated me. We had joined the (liberation) war energised by these slogans and songs. I’m seeing here the reflection of that,” said freedom fighter Selim Ahmed, who travelled from Shariatpur district to join the protest, on Friday.
He termed Shahbagh movement a civil uprising.
Selim said: “The country needs a revolution at this point in time. The movement of the youths has made way for that.”
On the eleventh day, the protesters kept chanting several slogans including ‘Joy Bangla’, ‘Tomar amar …