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Published : 30 Sep 2013, 11:45 AM
The tribunal, headed by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, finished hearing the case last month but kept the verdict pending.
The BNP MP was indicted on Apr 4 last year on 23 war crimes charges including rape, murder, abduction and torture during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.
The six-time MP from Chittagong had named an army of lawyers at the beginning of his trial but was effectively represented by Ahsanul Huq. Fakhrul Islam moved a few applications for SQ Chowdhury on the occasion as well. The prosecution was initially led by Zead-Al-Malum, and later Sultan Mahmud Simon and Tureen Afroz during the trial.
File Photo
The court concluded hearing the case on August 14, and made the verdict 'CAV' (a Latin term — curia advisari vult — meaning that the court requires time to consider the matter further).
On the last day of the hearing, SQ Chowdhury's chief defence counsel Ahsanul Huq pointed to several ‘contradictions’ in prosecution witnesses, while Fakhrul Islam presented ‘facts’ and ‘documents’ before the court, all claiming Chowdhury was in Pakistan during the war.
At that point, Tureen Afroz countered them citing several legal observations and some foreign cases.
Hena objected, saying, “This International Crimes Tribunal is mainly a local court. So, you can’t use any foreign or international acts or definitions in its trial process.”
He alleged that the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act was being used only to harass the government’s political opponents.
“Salauddin Quader is facing trial only because of his family’s political history and politics,” he said.
Prosecutor Tureen claimed her team had successfully proved that the BNP policymaker was directly involved in the “worst crimes”
The prosecution submitted formal charges against Salauddin Quader on Nov 14, 2011 and the tribunal took them into cognizance three days later.
A former adviser on parliamentary affairs to the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the Chittagong MP was shown arrested on war crimes charges on Dec 19, 2010, three days after his detention.
Anonymous calls threatening that Bangladesh will go up in flames if Chowdhury is given death penalty, have been around for a while since the hearing ended.
