Netrokona war criminals Taher, Noni to appeal against death penalty

Counsels of war crimes convict Md Obaidul Haq alias Abu Taher and Ataur Rahman Noni say they would challenge the death penalty.

Following the verdict on Tuesday, their counsel Gazi MH Tamim said, “They are aggrieved at the [International Crimes] Tribunal judgment and will appeal against it with the Supreme Court.”

He hoped that his clients would be proved ‘innocent’ through the appeal.

A three-strong Tribunal bench led by Justice Anwarul Haq in its verdict convicted the two Razakars, which collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces during the 1971 War of Liberation, of four out of six charges brought against them. The two got death for mass killings and rape in Netrakona.

Obaidul Haq alias Abu Taher and Ataur Rahman Noni

Tamim said, “They are eligible for getting cleared of all the four charges that they were convicted of. Ataur Rahman Noni was a Class-VIII student in 1971. We think it is highly unusual for an eighth grader to be involved in such heinous acts.”

“The other (Taher) was an undergraduate student. One of the witnesses was aged 1 and another was 3 [when the incidents took place]. There were many freedom fighters and elderly people in Netrakona. Instead of bringing them, the prosecution presented such minors as witnesses.”

According to the chargesheet, Taher was a local leader of the Nezami Islami Party in 1971. Before his arrest in 2014, he was involved with the BNP politics.

Taher and Noni opposed Bangladesh’s freedom struggle and joined the Razakar troops, a vigilante force formed to help the Pakistani army.

They became  ‘notorious Razakars’ and perpetrated crimes against humanity in different areas of the district including Netrakona Sadar and Barhatta Upazilas, according to the case details.

On the absence of defence witnesses, lawyer Tamim said, “The defence thought that the prosecution would never be able to prove the case with the kind of witnesses they produced. That’s why we did not produce any defence witness.”

According to the law, Taher and Noni will get one month to appeal against the judgment.