The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has deferred its verdict on Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami due to his illness.
Published : 24 Jun 2014, 11:47 AM
ICT-1 Chairman Justice M Enayetur Rahim said they received a letter from the prison authorities about Nizami's illness, in view of which they were not willing to announce their verdict on him.
It is the third time the case’s judgment has been postponed.
Justice Rahim said they had sought a report on Nizami's health condition.
"We have heard statements from the prosecution and the defence. We also saw the jail authorities' letter. We don't find it logical to give the verdict in this situation," the judge told the court.
“We are seeking Nizami’s complete health check-up report from the prison authorities and keeping the judgment CAV until then,” he said.
'Curia advisari vult' (CAV for short) is a Latin legal term which literally means 'the court wishes to be advised', meaning it reserves the judgment for another day.
The Jamaat chief has been charged with 16 counts of war crimes including murder, loot, rape, incitement, planning, abetment and killing intellectuals during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.
A former minister during the BNP-Jamaat alliance’s 2001-6 term, he was indicted on May 28, 2012.
He was sentenced to death in January this year for his role in the sensational 10-truck arms haul in Chittagong in 2004.
Mohammad Ali, representing the prosecution, said "The issue is under the tribunal's jurisdiction. It can take any decision."
Defence counsel Mizanul Islam said they did not think the verdict could be pronounced in Nizami’s absence.
"Because he was present in the hearings and now is in court custody, it would be unfair to pronounce the verdict in his absence," defence counsel Islam told reporters after the hearing.
Another defence lawyer Tajul Islam, too, had said delivering the verdict while Nizami was taken ill would not be in keeping with the law.
After the court deferred its judgment, he said the Jamaat chief’s condition was “really bad until 8am”.
“He has been advised to take full rest and minimise his movements,” Tajul Islam said.
The prison authorities said Nizami's physical condition deteriorated since Monday night.
Earlier in the day, Dhaka Central Jail’s Superintendent Farman Ali told bdnews24.com they were not taking Nizami to court since his blood pressure had risen.
“Doctors gave him sedatives in the morning as his blood pressure did not come down. He is sleeping now.
“We’ll check his health after he wakes up and take a decision,” Ali said.
The first time Nizami’s verdict was kept pending was on Nov 13 last year by the then ICT-1 chief ATM Fazle Kabir. However, the verdict was further delayed as Kabir retired on Dec 31.
High Court judge M Enayetur Rahim, appointed as ICT-1 Chairman on Feb 23 this year, ordered fresh arguments in this case.
On Mar 24, the tribunal kept the verdict pending again and announced a new date for it on Monday but it was postponed again.
The previous Awami League government initiated the process of trying suspected war criminals in 2010 by setting up the first tribunal. A second tribunal was formed two years later to expedite the trials.
So far, 10 men have been convicted of war crimes. Six of them are current and former Jamaat leaders, two are from Jamaat’s erstwhile student front and two BNP leaders.