Netrokona’s former Razakar commander Taher, member Noni sentenced to death for 1971 war-time atrocities

Former Razakar commander Md Obaidul Haq alias Abu Taher and a member of the notorious militia, Ataur Rahman Noni, have been sentenced to death for mass killings in Netrokona during the Liberation War in 1971.

A three-strong bench of the International Crimes Tribunal led by Justice Anwarul Haq handed down the verdict on Tuesday.

The other members were Justices Shahinur Islam and Md Shohrawardy.

The war crimes court said four of the six charges against them had been proven beyond doubt.

Freedom fighters and members of the Shahbagh Ganajagarn Mancha, gathered outside the court premises and greeted the verdict with open jubilation.

Celebratory processions also hit the streets in various parts of Netrokona, the district the two men belong to.

During the Liberation War in 1971, Taher was a local leader of the Nezami Islami Party.

At the time of his arrest on war-crimes charges four decades later, he was associated with the BNP.

Taher and Noni had opposed Bangladesh’s struggle for independence.

They had joined the Razakar troops, which collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces instead.

With Taher and Noni being ordered to be sent to the gallows, 18 of the 26 accused in 22 war crimes cases so far have been given the maximum punishment.

The two men had been brought to the tribunal from the Dhaka Central Jail in the morning. A little after 10am, the judge, ordering them to be produced at court, read out a summary of the 268-page verdict and pronounced the sentence.

The law gives Taher and Noni a month to appeal at the Supreme Court against the ICT verdict.

One joins BNP, other becomes footballer

According to the chargesheet, Taher is the son of Monjurul Haq, a resident of Shunoi in the Aatparha Upazila of Netrokona district. He was born on Jan 1, 1950.

He joined the Nezami Islami Party after getting his B.Com degree.

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

He soon became the commander of its Netrokona unit.

Before his arrest in 2014, Taher ran a business in Netrokona town’s Teri Bazar and was a BNP follower, the prosecution said.

The other war criminal, Ataur Rahman Noni, belongs to the same district. He is the son of the late Ahuzan Ali, aka Azan Ali, who was a resident of Kachandra in the Kendua Upazila.

Noni’s Secondary School Certificate records his date of birth as July 7, 1956 but his National Identity Card has it as August 8, 1958.

The trial revealed that Noni, a post-1971 footballer of the municipal town, joined the Razakar under Taher’s leadership and took part in several war crimes.

Noni ran his own business in Netrokona town’s Moktar Bazar before his arrest.

“During the war in 1971, he was only 19 but took part in several crimes against humanity,” the chargesheet states.

Case details

Taher and Noni’s cases reached the International Crimes Tribunal after Netrokona freedom fighter Ali Reza Kanchan filed a case in 2010 against them and 10 others, accusing them of perpetrating war crimes. 

The prosecution began investigating them on Jun 6, 2013, and filed a 63-page report on Nov 5, 2014.

Netrokona police arrested them on Aug 12, 2014, hours after the special court issued warrants for the two. The next day, they were sent to jail.

On Dec 11 that year, the court admitted the charges levelled against them. They were indicted on six charges on Mar 2 last year, and the trial began.

Witness deposition started on Apr 5, 2015, during which altogether 23 people testified.

On Jan 11 this year, the tribunal concluded the trial and kept its verdict pending.

Lawyers Mokhlesur Rahman Badal and Sabina Yasmmin Khan Munni represented the prosecution during the court proceedings while Abdus Sobhan Tarafdar and Gazi MH Tamim represented the defendants.