Court defers framing of charges against 17 war-crime suspects

A tribunal has deferred framing of charges against 17 war-crime suspects.

Salamat Ullah Khan, former chairman of Cox’s Bazar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and 16 others are facing multiple charges of crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 War of Liberation. 

All of them are residents of Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar.

On Monday, the war crimes tribunal led by Justice Md Shahinur Rahman fixed Feb 26 to press charges against the suspects, said prosecutor Rana Das Gupta.

“The court was due to indict them today but one suspect, Rashid Mia, could not arrive in court due to his illness.”

Rashid Mia, a former BNP lawmaker, is admitted to the Coronary Care Unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The defendants’ lawyer Abdus Sattar said: “The court granted Rashid Mia bail on condition. The bail will turn invalid if he fails to appear in hearings. The court accepted my application on behalf of Rashid and fixed Feb 26 for the hearing.”

The International Crimes Tribunal finished hearing charges on Dec 17 last year in the case and set Jan 22 for indicting the suspects.

Four suspects, Salamat Ullah Khan, a leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Bangladesh, Nurul Islam, Badshah Mia and Osman Gani, are behind bars.

Twelve others, Moulavi Zakaria Sikder, Oli Ahmed, Md Jalal Uddin, Md Saiful alias Sabul, Momtaj Ahmed, Habibur Rahman, Amzad Ali, Moulavi Ramiz Hasan, Abdul Shukkur, Md Zakaria, Moulavi Jalal and Abdul Aziz, are at large.

The case initially accused 19 people. The number has come down to 17 after the death of two suspects.

The state has brought 12 specific charges against them.

They stand accused of torturing women and forcibly converting people to Islam, sending them into exile and murdering 94 people during the liberation war.

An inquiry into the case was carried out between May 2014 and October 2015. As many as 126 witnesses have testified in the case.