Friday, September 21, 2012
Our Correspondent, Pabna
Members of an army intelligence agency yesterday arrested Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Maulana Abdus Subhan at Bangabandhu Bridge toll plaza in Tangail yesterday in connection with a case of violence.
A war crimes suspect, Subhan was sent to Pabna jail after he was produced before the executive magistrate’s court here around 8:00pm, said sources in police.
Earlier, police had taken him from Tangail to Pabna.
“A case was filed in April this year against Subhan and 30 other BNP-Jamaat men on charges of looting, torching and vandalising houses in four …

Thursday, September 20, 2012
A freedom fighter yesterday told the International Crimes Tribunal-2 it is hundred percent true that Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman was an Al-Badr leader during the Liberation War.
Refuting a defence claim that Kamaruzzaman was “neither an Al-Badr nor an anti-liberation activist”, Ziaul Islam, eighth prosecution witness in a case against the Jamaat leader, said, “He [Kamaruzzaman] was a known Al-Badr commander in Mymensingh.”
The tribunal, however, did not record it as the witness made a similar statement during his testimony on September 17.
During …

Monday, February 20, 2012
A respected Bangladeshi academic recently said to me that these days in Bangladesh it was not enough to simply voice ones support for the international crimes tribunal. In order to gain the approval of the more ardent ICT campaigners and government supporters, one must use the exact words, language and tone that they themselves use when they talk about it. There is an expected script, he said, and deviation from it invites harsh criticism, ostracism and sometimes worse.
I was reminded of …

The witnesses were being told that they might face trouble if the government changed, he said. “It should be understood that this is a reason why the prosecution is not being able to produce a number of witnesses [in court]”.

The minister said this while addressing a dialogue on ‘Trial of Crimes Against Humanity: Ensuring Transparency,

War crimes charges against Mojaheed, Kamaruzzaman sent back for flawed paper work, Quader Molla’s charges accepted
The prosecution suffered its second setback in a week yesterday after the International Crimes Tribunal refused to consider the war crimes charges against Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman because of flawed paper work and documentation.
The tribunal asked the chief prosecutor to fix the flaws and submit the charges again next month.
The properly arranged charges against Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Kamaruzzaman have …

Charge against Ghulam Azam likely to be submitted after 2 weeks

L-R: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and assistant secretaries general Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla
The International Crimes Tribunal on Tuesday directed the prosecution to submit formal charge by December 5 against four top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders for their alleged involvement in the 1971 war crimes.
The tribunal came up with the order after the prosecution informed that they had received final investigation reports on the allegations against …

Islami Oikya Jote Chairman Fazlul Haque Amini yesterday threatened to “oust” the government within a week by hartal if he is arrested.
Swearing upon God, he also said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would land in jail for five years if they are voted to power.
Amini was addressing a press conference at Islami Ain Bastobayan Committee office auditorium in the city’s Lalbagh.
“I swear upon Allah! If I am arrested today, Hasina (Awami League government) will fall within a week.
“Arresting me would not be as easy as the others. Thousands …

A special tribunal here yesterday sentenced six activists of banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad (Huji) to prison in four separate cases.
The convicts are Shamsul Islam Mollah, 48, of Narsingdi district, Musa Miah, 28, of B`baria town, Maulana Hedayetullah, 30, and Saiful Islam Sajib alias Saifullah of Sarail upazila, Jamal Miah, 24, of Nasirnagar uapzila and Mizanur Rahman, 21, of Ashuganj uapzila.
Of them, Shamsul Islam Mollah and Hedayetullah were awarded 14 years rigorous imprisonment in an arms case filed with Brahmanbaria Sadar Police …

Police yesterday arrested former Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury on charges of September 19 vandalism and assaulting police personnel in Chittagong.
Syed Nurul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of police, told The Daily Star that the Ramna police picked up Shahjahan, former MP of Satkania in Chittagong, around 3:30pm in front of the High Court in the capital.
Shahjahan, also a Majlish-e-Shura member of Jamaat’s central committee, was on his way to the court to arrange bail in cases filed for violence that left at least …

Rights activist, witness to ‘71 war Ian Martin shares withThe Daily Star his views, experiences

Ian Martin
The trial of war crimes must be held to ensure justice, but politics should be kept at bay, observed Ian Martin, a former secretary general of Amnesty International and a witness to the beginning of Bangladesh’s War of Independence on March 26, 1971.
A day before the 40th Independence Day today, Martin told The Daily Star, “I don’t believe there is a time limit [for trying war criminals, as …

Police arrested four suspected members of banned militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh in the city’s Adabar area in separate drives during the last five days.
They also seized a huge number of leaflets containing anti-government statements, posters and books from their possession.
Inspector Ataur Rahman of Adabar Police Station told The Daily Star that following a tip-off they arrested Ibne Mizan Sentu, 22, an honours student of Mohammadpur Central University College, on February 23.
Following statements by Mizan in a three-day police remand, the law enforcers …

The International Crimes Tribunal yesterday directed the jail authorities to produce Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee before it on March 15 in connection with the war crime charges.
The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Nizamul Huq, ordered the investigation agency to submit the ‘case diary’ (regular progress) for investigation into allegations against Sayedee by March 15.
The tribunal also adjourned the hearing on the matter till that day.
It came up with the order after hearing submissions from the prosecution and a counsel for Sayedee …