Mobarak case argument from May 11

Arguments in the war crimes trial of Mobarak Hossain, an expelled Awami League leader from Brahmanbaria, begins on May 11.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1, led by M Enayetur Rahim, fixed the date on Thursday.

The third and the last defence witness was to testify on Thursday but Mubarak’s lawyer, Tajul Islam, told the tribunal he could not be produced.

The tribunal ended the recording of to testimonies of defence witnesses and set the date for argument.

Earlier, on Nov 25, the tribunal had endorsed three defence witnesses, including Mobarak himself and his elder son Mohammad Asad Uddin.

Mobarak and Asad gave their statements in the court but the defence was unable to produce the third witness.

The prosecution had cross-examined the two after their deposition.

The tribunal had started recording statement of the prosecution witnesses on May 20 last year. Their cross-examination had closed on Nov 25.

The 12 prosecution witnesses who testified are freedom fighters Darul Islam and Noni Gopal Mallick, martyrs Abdul Khaleq’s daughter Khodeza Begum and son Rafiqul Islam, Md Khadem Ali, Ali Akbor, Md Abdul Malek, Abdus Samad, martyr’s wife Vanu Bibi, Abdul Hamid, Brahmanbaria Industrial School superintendent Chaman Sikandar Julkarnain and investigator in the case Shyamal Chowdhury.

The prosecution, on Apr 10, formally presented war crimes charges including those of abduction, confinement, murder and crimes against humanity against Mobarak, an alleged Razakar commander during 1971.

It specifically said charges against Mobarak included the murder of 33 residents of Akhaura’s Tanmandayl, abduction and killing of a student named ‘Asuranjan’, torturing and killing of Abdul Khaleque, Abdul Malek and ‘Siraj’ of Kharompur village.

Mobarak has, however, denied the charges.

Mobarak was a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami and later joined the Awami League.

A case was filed against him on May 3, 2009 in a Brahmanbaria court over a killing during the Liberation War.

Although initially granted bail by the High Court, Mobarak was taken into custody by a Brahmanbaria after being told to surrender on Oct 19, 2011.

His case was then transferred to the tribunal, which gave him a two-month bail on Jul 15, 2012 and later sent him to jail, scrapping the bail on Mar 12 last year.

An investigation body set up by the tribunal probed allegations against him from Jul 16 last year to Jan 22 this year.