Bangladesh war crimes prosecutor Zead-al Malum is dead

Zead-al Malum, the International Crimes Tribunal counsel who was involved in the prosecution of top war criminals, has died in hospital care.

He breathed his last at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka just before Saturday night, his niece and lawyer Maksuda Akter Laily said.

Sultan Mahmud Simon, Malum’s colleague in the ICT prosecution team, said plans about Malum’s funerals and burial will be revealed later.

Malum was admitted to Bangladesh Specialised Hospital in Shyamoli after he fell ill on May 25.

He was transferred to the CMH when his condition deteriorated, said Supreme Court lawyer Hasan Tarique Chowdhury Sohel.

Malum was actively involved with leftist politics.

“Comrade Zead-al Malum breathed his last at CMH sometime ago,” Mujahidul Islam Selim, president of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, wrote on Facebook.

The government appointed Malum prosecutor to the tribunal after its formation in 2010.

He played a key role in the prosecution of former Jamaat-e-Islami chiefs Ghulam Azam and Matiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, and BNP leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, among others.

Malum had worked as president of Bangladesh Students’ Union when he studied at Dhaka University.

Later, he had served as president of Bangladesh Khetmojur Samiti and a CPB unit for farm labourers. 

Born in Tangail’s Karotia, Malum was a vice-president of Ganatantrik Ainjibi Samiti.