Court ‘probing’ verdict leak claims

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 is looking to the allegation that the death verdict for Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was ‘leaked’ before it was delivered.

Before the judgment on Tuesday, the social media sites were rife with rumours that the verdict was extracted from the hard drives of a law ministry computer (Law secretary’s computer) and leaked.

After the death sentence was announced, it was claimed in the social networks that the one announced had fully matched the ‘leaked one’. The family and defence lawyers of Salauddin Quader also made a similar claim.

“Initiatives have been taken the moment we came to know that the verdict was available online. We are trying to find if any of our faults led to this incident. You will be informed about it soon,” ICT Registrar AKM Nasiruddin told bdnews24.com.

Asked how the judge’s verdict could be accessed through a law ministry computer, he said, “The State Minister for Law has already spoken about it. He (minister) said the law ministry does not have an employee by the name from whose computer the verdict is said to have been leaked.”

Junior minister Quamrul Islam in response to the verdict said in the afternoon that people at home and abroad were conspiring to call the trial into question.

“We are investigating the allegation. Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Corporation has been informed about the matter. Journalists will be briefed about the findings of the probe,” the minister said.

He said the conspirators will also face trial.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said a computer operator named ‘Alam’ had been blamed for leaking the judgment allegedly from the computer of the Information Secretary who sits on the seventh floor.

“But the Information Secretary sits on the fifth floor and no one named Alam works in the law ministry.”

The state minister also said, “I want to make it clear that no acting secretary at our ministry has a computer operator named Alam. Nor is there any disk.”

Inu believed the propaganda was being spread intentionally to confuse the people.

Salauddin Quader’s wife, Farhat, in her reaction said they were surprised to hear the judges reading the same copy ‘prepared by the law ministry’. She claimed she had received the verdict the previous day.

“I was tallying the verdict. It is completely the identical,” said Farhat, holding bound papers in her hands, speaking to bdnews24.com.

“This is the verdict. We had found it online yesterday.”

After the verdict was announced, Salauddin Quader, at the request of his family and lawyers, said: “This verdict has been released from the ministry. I thank the law ministry.”

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam refused to accept that the verdict was leaked. “This is guesswork, not true.”

“The verdict being released before it was announced is out of the question.”

Prosecutor Zead-AL-Malum said this was part of a new conspiracy and ‘a new drama.’