Bangladesh parliament decides to impound assets of war criminals, killers of founding father

Parliament has moved to impound all movable and immovable assets of individuals convicted of assassinating Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and committing war crimes in 1971.

The motion on the decision was passed unanimously when Fazilatun Nasa Bappy, an MP from seats reserved for women, placed it in the House on Thursday.

Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah chaired the session.

The families of war crimes victims and several organizations, among which are Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee and Ganajagaran Mancha, which are demanding the death penalty for all war criminals, have also been demanding a confiscation of war criminals' properties.

But till now a decision on the issue could not be arrived at owing to the absence of a legal framework related to it.

Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq last year said a law would be passed 'shortly' to impound the assets of the war criminals.

Following the execution of top Jamaat-e-Islami financier Mir Quasem Ali on Sep 3, Law Minister Anisul Huq said a new law to allow for the confiscation of war criminals’ properties was being considered.

Bangabandhu murder trial

Four years after Bangladesh emerged on the map, independence architect Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family members on Aug 15, 1975, by a group of rogue army officers at his Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka.

Their trial was stopped through an Indemnity Ordinance that saved the self-proclaimed killers.

The ordinance was abrogated in November 1996 when the Awami League returned to power, paving the path to bring the killers to justice.

But the case proceedings came to a near halt after the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami coalition formed government. The Awami League rode back to power in 2009 and restarted the trial.

Following the verdict in the case, five of the 12 killers - Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan Shahariar Rashid Khan, Bazlul Huda, Mohiuddin Ahmed and AKM Mohiuddin - were hanged on Jan 27, 2010.

Six others Risaldar Moslehuddin Khan, Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, M Rashed Chowdhury, AHMB Noor Chowdhury and Abdul Mazed are still absconding abroad.

Another, Abdul Aziz Pasha, died in hiding in Zimbabwe in 2001.

War crimes trials

After the 1971 Liberation War, a law was made to try those who had collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces, but that initiative hit the wall after the Bangabandhu was murdered.

The much-anticipated trials resumed in 2009 when the Awami League came back to power.

The International Crimes Tribunal was set up on Mar 25, 2010, to expedite the trials of the war criminals.

Five top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and one of BNP have so far been hanged for the crimes against humanity they committed during the war.

They are Jamaat’s Abdul Quader Molla, Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Motiur Rahman Nizami, Mir Quasem Ali and BNP’s Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

Some others including Jamaat’s Delwar Hossain Sayedee have been jailed until death. He was first sentenced to death, but the top appeals court reduced the punishment. Both the State and defence have sought a review of the judgment.

The appeals of Jamaat guru Ghulam Azam and former BNP minister Abdul Alim against their sentences were dismissed after they died during the appeal hearings.

On Thursday, before Bappy placed the motion, the minister termed it 'timely' and said, "The ministry has already taken steps to confiscate assets. A taskforce has been formed to bring back the convicted killers of the Bangabandhu."

He said the taskforce in a meeting discussed the issue of finding the assets that the convicts directly or anonymously own.

"But it was seen in the past that papers get changed whenever any step to confiscate the properties is taken," he added.

Huq said the killers of Bangabandhu had no right to keep any asset in Bangladesh. "Their properties will be seized," Anisul declared.

He said the properties of the executed convicts had already been transferred to their heirs. "So it will take time to confiscate their properties as per law."

"But there is no problem in confiscating the properties of the fugitives. It won't take time and the process to freeze their assets is under way," he said.

Later, Bappy placed the motion proposing that "all movable and immovable assets of the killers of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman be confiscated".

She also detailed the events before and after the assassination of the independence hero on Aug 15, 1975.

Ten other MPs proposed amendments to the motion. They wanted the words 'persons convicted of committing war crimes' to be added after the Bangabandhu's killers and 'immediately' before the core motion.

The law minister agreed to add the proposal to confiscate war criminals' assets, but said there was no need to add 'immediately' since 'the process was under way'.

The MPs passed the motion in voice vote with the word 'immediately' taken out.

The law minister said the properties of the fugitive killers ofthe Bangabandhu would be confiscated first and then those of the executed convicts through a legal process.

"The movable and immovable assets of those who killed 3 million people in 1971 will also be seized," he added.

According to him, the process to make a law to confiscate the war criminals' properties was under way.