The war crimes tribunal decision to defer the verdict of Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami has left the freedom fighters disappointed.
Published : 24 Jun 2014, 02:25 PM
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT) was set to pronounce the verdict on charges of 'crime against humanity' from 1971 on Tuesday, but kept it pending due to Nizami's illness.
Several freedom fighters' organisations gathered in front of the ICT on Tuesday morning and raised slogans for the maximum punishment of death penalty for the Jamaat leader.
The announcement deferring the verdict by the ICT left them disappointed.
"It's hard to accept that the verdict has been deferred due to the illness of the defendant. On a personal note, I think that the verdict could have been delivered by bringing the accused at court with proper medical facilities," Ismat Quader Gama, vice chairman of Freedom Fighters' Central Command told bdnews24.com.
"This delay in verdict under pretext of illness has left us with deep apprehension," said Dhaka University teacher and former Vice Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University Anwar Hossain.
Nizami’s trial began on May 28, 2012 after his arrest on July 29, 2010 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
On Aug 2, 2010, he was shown arrested for committing crimes against humanity.
The case’s hearing ended in November last year but ICT-1 ordered fresh arguments in the case in response to a defence petition filed for the sake of 'justice'.
The second round of arguments ended on Mar 24 this year, when the ICT kept the verdict pending.
On Monday, the tribunal said that they would deliver the verdict on Tuesday, which was deferred as the prison authorities informed that Nizami was physically unfit to be produced in court.