Prosecution ends submission on Azam

Jamaat-e-Islami guru Ghulam Azam was effectively a ‘springboard’ for all the atrocities during the 1971 Liberation War, Chief Prosecutor Ghulam Arieff Tipoo said in his submission before the International Crimes Tribunal-1.

Wrapping up the closing argument he said, “It was perhaps the most important case” before the war crimes tribunal and underlined that “It deserves special attention.”

Monday was the 10th day of closing arguments in the war crimes case against Ghulam Azam who was indicted on five charges including conspiracy, incitement and complicity.

The three-member International Crimes Tribunal – 1, set up to try crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, has fixed Mar 7 for the defence to sum up its case. The prosecution will presumably be given an opportunity to reply.

Prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum summed up the legal arguments against Ghulam Azam who headed Jamaat’s East Pakistan unit during the Liberation War.

Malum cited a number of similar war crimes cases from other countries to argue his case of ‘command responsibility’ and ‘superior role and status’.

The prosecutor also cited from Ghulam Azam’s autobiography to show that the former Jamaat chief had had a close relationship with the Pakistani junta to prove his involvement in the infamous Operation Searchlight that began on the night Mar 25 marking the start of a 9-month War of Independence for Bangladesh.

The chief prosecutor rose up to say, “Ghulam Azam was not just a mastermind of the atrocities [during the Liberation War] but also a springboard.”

Tipoo said that vigilante groups like the Al Badr, Al Shams and Razakar units as well as the Pakistani Army flew at his instructions.

He drew the court’s attention saying that the case was a crucial one and his colleagues, particularly Sultan Mahmud who took the court through all 61 counts against Azam, had covered extensive material and hoped that the judges would give this case the due attention it deserved.

The tribunal chairman, Justice A T M Fazle Kabir, thanked the prosecution and asked the defence to begin.

Abu Bakar Siddique, one of two junior lawyers present at the court, with the senior Jamaat defence counsels remaining absent due to a general strike called by their party, prayed for a week’s adjournment.

He said the seniors needed time to prepare their reply.

Justice Kabir, flanked by Justice Anwarul Haque — tribunal member Justice Jahangir Hossain was absent — said, “The prayer is allowed in part.”

He then fixed Mar 7 for hearing the defence.

Jamaat Guru in ICT-1

On Dec 12, 2011, the prosecution brought a 52-point charter of charges against Azam and appealed for his arrest. Later, following the tribunal order, charges were re-arranged and presented to the tribunal on Jan 5.

He was produced before the tribunal on Jan 11 and sent to jail the same day. Since that evening, the 90-year old former Carmichael College professor has been kept at the prison cell of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for better treatment considering his delicate health.

Ghulam Azam’s indictment hearing began on Feb 15 and the court charged him on May 13.

A former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, arguably the largest Islamist organisation in the subcontinent, Azam is allegedly among the key people who pioneered anti-liberation efforts in 1971 colluding with the Pakistani military junta of that time.

He is widely perceived to have been among core group of right-wing supporters of the Pakistani Army, who came out strongly in support of a united Pakistan.

Ghulam Azam, then chief of Jamaat, was instrumental in setting up the infamous Peace Committee at the national level. The Razakars, an auxiliary force set up mainly to actively thwart the liberation forces, are said to have been mobilised through the Peace Committees across Bangladesh.

Among the most notorious vigilante militia are the Al Badr, whose membership is said to have been mainly dominated by the Jamaat's student wing called the Islami Chhatra Sangha at that time.

The Al Badr is alleged to have spearheaded execution of the intellectual elites of Bangladesh just days before the victory on Dec 16, 1971.

Azam also spoke in favour of Pakistan to the Middle Eastern countries during the war, according to the prosecution.

He stayed in London for seven years after 1971 and returned to Bangladesh in 1978 during BNP founder Ziaur Rahman's rule. Having led Jamaat for long, Azam retired from active politics in 1999.

His party remains a key ally of the main opposition BNP. Two Jamaat leaders, also behind bars for war crimes charges, have even served as ministers during the BNP's last tenure in government between 2001 and 2006, when Azam's party was part of the ruling coalition.

Azam was indicted on five charges — 61 counts — including incitement, conspiracy, planning and complicity on May 13, 2012.