Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdus Subhan to hang for war-time atrocities in Pabna

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdus Subhan, who has been sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, had been charged with nine counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, abductions, detention, torture and loot.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 Chairman, Justice Obaidul Hassan, handed down the maximum penalty on Wednesday.

With six of the nine charges levelled by the prosecution having been proven beyond any shred of doubt, Subhan was sentenced to be hanged till death.

The other two tribunal members, Justice Md Mujibur Rahman Mia and Justice Shahinur Islam, were also present at the time of the sentencing – the 16th conviction for crimes against humanity.

Subhan was the chief of Jamaat’s Pabna unit and sat on the party's highest policymaking body during the post-Liberation War era.

It came to light in the trial that Subhan, with Pakistani soldiers, had indulged in murders, mass killings, arson and lootings once ‘Operation Searchlight’ was launched on the night of Mar 25, 1971.

He is the ninth top Jamaat leader to be convicted for war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s war of independence from Pakistan.

Who is Subhan?

A former MP from Pabna town, Subhan was born on Feb 19, 1936, in the Tailakundi village at Sujanagar.

His father was Sheikh Naimuddin, and mother, Nurani Begum.

In 1954, he passed the Kamil exams from the Aliya Madrasa in Sirajganj. He later became the head Maulana of the same institution, and subsequently the superintendent of the Ulot Senior Madrasa in Arifpur.

He was appointed the chief of the Pabna district unit of the Jamaat once it was formed.

From 1962 to 1965 he was a member of the Provincial Council.

He contested in the 1970 election but lost to Awami League candidate Amjad Hossain.

Subhan was the General Secretary and subsequently the Vice-President of the 'Peace Committee' in Pabna during the 1971 war, formed to help the Pakistani forces in suppressing the freedom struggle of the Bengalis.

It was under his leadership that units of the Peace Committee, Razakars, Al Badr, Al Shams, and Mujahid were formed in police station areas of Pabna district.

Witnesses testified that Subhan orchestrated killings, loot, abductions, and other atrocities in various villages with the help of these vigilante groups and Pakistani soldiers.

Korban Ali, the sixth prosecution witness, identified Subhan standing in the dock as the man who, brandishing a pistol, had rounded up villagers and shot them, and told the Pakistani soldiers to shoot as well.

The tribunal was also told that, during the war, Subhan had prepared and supplied to the Pakistani forces a list of local Awami League leaders and activists and Hindus.

Sensing the fall of the Yahya Khan regime towards the end of the independence struggle, he, along with Jamaat guru Golam Azam, went over to Pakistan.

Subhan later returned to Bangladesh following a change in the political scenario and went on to become a member of parliament.

The case timeline

Investigation into Subhan’s war crimes by the prosecution’s investigating officers Motiur Rahman and Md Nur Hossain began on Apr 15, 2012.

The charge-sheet against the Jamaat leader was filed on Sep 15, 2013.

He was arrested at the toll plaza of the Bangabandhu Bridge on Sep 20, 2012. He was was later shown arrested in the war crimes case and sent to jail.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 began Subhan’s trial on Dec 31, 2013 on the basis of nine charges brought against him.

The case, however, was shifted to Tribunal-2 on Mar 27, 2014 before the deposition by witnesses had begun.

The hearing got under way on Apr 1, 2014 with the opening arguments by prosecutors Sultan Mahmud Simon and Rezia Sultana.

Thirty-one witnesses including investigators Motiur Rahman and Md Nur Hossain testified for the prosecution.

On the other hand, the defence was unable to produce any witness, although three had been initially named.

The tribunal had kept the verdict pending after hearing ended on Dec 4, 2014.

The 16th verdict

The much-awaited trials for crimes against humanity committed during the war began with the constitution of the International Crimes Tribunal on Mar 25, 2010.

The tribunal in the first verdict sentenced to death former Jamaat-e-Islami member Abul Kalam Azad alias ‘Bachchu Razakar’ on Jan 21, 2013.

The collaborator of the Pakistani occupation army could not appeal against the verdict as he was absconding.

In the second verdict, delivered on Feb 5 the same year, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Abdul Quader Molla was awarded life term in jail.

The judgement triggered protests by youths at Dhaka’s cultural hub, Shahbagh, who thought the verdict was ‘too lenient’ and demanded maximum punishment for Molla.

The protests were joined by tens of thousands, leading to the emergence of secular platform Ganajagaran Mancha demanding capital punishment for all war criminals.

The movement rippled across Bangladesh, forcing the government to amend the tribunal law giving the prosecution a chance to appeal against verdicts.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court finally sentenced war criminal Molla to death on Sep 17, 2013. He was executed on Dec 12 the same year.

Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced to death in the third verdict, delivered on Feb 28, 2013.

His supporters in Jamaat strongholds went berserk after the judgement.

According to the government, over 70 people, including police personnel, were killed in violence during the protest against the verdict.

Hearing Sayedee’s appeal, the apex court lessened his punishment to imprisonment until death on Sep 17 last year.

The tribunal sentenced to death another assistant secretary general of Jamaat, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, on May 9, 2013.

The Appellate Division upheld the verdict on Nov 3.

Ghulam Azam, who headed Jamaat during the war against Pakistani oppressors, was sentenced to 90 years in prison on Jun 15, 2013 for plotting, planning and instigating crimes against humanity. It was the fifth verdict.

The former Jamaat leader died at the age of 92 in a hospital on Oct 23, when his appeal was being heard.

Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed was handed down capital punishment on Jul 17, 2013.

In the seventh verdict, BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury was sentenced to be hanged by his neck until death.

Both Mujaheed and Chowdhury have appealed to the Supreme Court.

On Oct 9, 2013, former BNP minister Abdul Alim was sentenced to prison until death.

The 83-year-old war criminal died on Aug 30 last year. He had served 11 months in a prison cell of a hospital.

Al Badr commanders Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin were given the capital punishment on Nov 3, 2013 for killing intellectuals during the war. Both are on the run.

The 10th verdict was delivered on Oct 29, last year.

This time, Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, who was the chief of the Al Badr vigilante during the war, was sentenced to death.

The verdict observed that he used Islam willfully and consciously to uproot the Bangali nation.

He, too, has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.

As Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) closest ally, Nizami served as a minister during the 2001-6 tenure of Khaleda Zia.

Chittagong Al Badr commander Mir Quasem Ali was sentenced to walk to the gallows. The Shura member of the party is said to be its main financier.

On Nov 13 last year, Faridpur Razakar commander Zahid Hossain Khokon was sentenced to death.

Brahmanbarhia Razakar commander Mobarak Hossain, expelled by local Awami League, got the death sentence on Nov 24 last year.

Former Muslim League leader from Habiganj, Syed Mohammad Kaiser, who became a state minister during military dictator Hussein Muhammad Ershad’s regime, was also sentenced to death for war crimes on Dec 23.

The last verdict was delivered on Dec 30, sentencing Jamaat Assistant Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam to death.