Dhaka, Jan 11 (bdnews24.com) – A former army officer, who was given life term by a military court in 1976, has said that Gen Ziaur Rahman wanted to hear nothing but death sentence of Col Abu Taher.
Maj (retd) Ziauddin told reporters on Tuesday: "Ziaur Rahman had approved the verdict of Taher's trial (in a sedition case) in presence of high ranking army officials even when it was yet to be pronounced by the militray court."
Talking to reporters after giving testimony in the High Court during hearing of a writ petition challenging the legality of the military court trial, he said: "There were some army officials, who fought for the country during the liberation war, including Maj Monjur, protested Taher's death sentence."
Seventeen civilians and military personnel, including Taher, one of the sector commanders during the liberation war in 1971, were tried and sentenced to death on different dates in 1976 and 1977 in the sedition case.
Taher was executed at 4:30am on July 21, 1976 at the Dhaka Central Jail.
Taher's wife Lutfa and brother Anwar Hossain and one other filed the writ petition on August 22 last year challenging the legality of the court martial.
During the Tuesday's hearing in the bench of justice A H M Shamsuddin and justice Sheikh Mohammad Zakir Hossain, Hasanul Haque Inu MP, president of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, said Taher was not given scope to defend himself during the 17-day secret trial.
Inu demanded a transparent and fair investigation into the military trial and disclose the findings before the nation.
Following the petition, the High Court on Aug 23 last year asked the government to explain within three weeks why the Martial Law regulations under which Taher was tried should not be declared illegal and unconstitutional.
The court also directed the government to produce the records of the trail of Taher and 16 others.
According to the petition, the administration neither disclosed anything about the trial, charges and execution, nor did it inform anything to the families of the victims.
The petitioners pointed out that there was no provision for secret trial in the constitution.
Mentioning that there was no provision of appeal in the Martial Law Regulation against any judgment of military court, they further pointed out that it was unconstitutional.
They also said the trial of Taher and 16 others, their conviction and execution were illegal and unconstitutional as per the Supreme Court's recent ruling.
The petitioners prayed that the court direct the government authorities to produce the records of the case and its trial so that they can know the reason behind such trial.
As the evidences of the sedition case were not available, the court asked five of the convicts – Inu, Sharif Nurul Ambia, Maj (retd) Ziauddin, Mahmudur Rahman Manna and Sirajul Alam Khan – to give testimonies in the court.
Shah Din Malik argued for the petitioners while attorney general Mahbubey Alam stood for the state during the hearing.
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