WAR CRIME TRIAL
Witness disclosing embarrassing facts
It comes as a surprise that the complaint of the high profile case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi before the war crime tribunal is a convicted thief. He was accused of and then sentenced to imprisonment in a robbery case for breaking into the house of a member of the Hindu community in his neighbourhood in the Najirpur upazila of Pirojpur district along with some others.
The man Mahbubul Alam Hawlader who filed the case in 2009 after 38 years of the liberation war on charge of crime against humanity is also now on bail in yet another case by his first wife on charges of violence against woman and demand for dowry.
Full Story It comes as a surprise that the complaint of the high profile case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi before the war crime tribunal is a convicted thief. He was accused of and then sentenced to imprisonment in a robbery case for breaking into the house of a member of the Hindu community in his neighbourhood in the Najirpur upazila of Pirojpur district along with some others.
The man Mahbubul Alam Hawlader who filed the case in 2009 after 38 years of the liberation war on charge of crime against humanity is also now on bail in yet another case by his first wife on charges of violence against woman and demand for dowry.
An executive council member and three times elected MP from a Pirojpur constituency, Sayedee has been indicted on 20 counts of crimes against humanity at the International Crimes Tribunal set up to deal with such offences during Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971. His alleged crimes include murder, rape, loot and arson.
During the questioning by the defence lawyers in the tribunal, the complaint said he was a freedom fighter and had worked as the chief intelligence gathering agent for the freedom fighters in the district at that time. But the questioning revealed that he was only a 12 year minor at that time raising the question whether his claims were credible at all. How a minor boy could discharge such risky duty to cover military operations and gather secret information?
On further questioning Hawlader said he did not have the habit of reading newspapers at that time and but did not know the names of peace committee members of the district and the local upazilas. Neither could he recollect who were his immediate boss and other persons in the network. More interestingly, he has failed to name the place or the camp where he was trained as an intelligence gathering agent.
He told the court early last week that as a freedom fighter he is now living on state allowances. His second wife is also receiving state allowance to manage a square meal for the family members.
During the questioning on last Wednesday doubts further deepened on his claim as a freedom fighter. He told the court that he was not on the list of the freedom fighter until the last BNP government gave him the accreditation card. Further disclosures in the court showed when the present Awami League government came to power local party supporters submitted written objections to the incumbent MP Abdul Awal against Hawlader’s inclusion on the list of freedom fighters. The Lawmaker had then stopped his allowances which he was receiving as a freedom fighter on verbal instructions to the concerned authorities.
This prompted the defence lawyers to question whether under the circumstances he struck a deal with the administration by agreeing to file the case against Maulana Sayeedi as a war crime accused in return of his government allowances. Hawlader however turned down the suggestion as not true.
However, during the questioning it was revealed that complaint was a poor person living from hand to mouth. He managed to enlist his name as a freedom fighter during the last BNP government when Maulana Sayeedi was the local lawmaker.
Sayeedi had also twice recommended his petitions to the district deputy commissioner – once for financial assistance and subsequently to help him out to get some CI sheets to make roof of his house.
On questioning how he could turn against the man who has helped him so much, he said he did not personally approach him for those recommendations. Local Freedom Fighters Command secured the recommendations and Sayedi did his job as the local MP.
He had no credible answer on a question as to why he did not file the case against Sayeedi until last year.
The defence lawyers said after the liberation war when around 300 persons were sued for their involvement in war crimes, why he had not sued him at that time. He had no answer.
The defence lawyers said Sayeedi was the three times elected MP from the same Pirojpur constituency where he won the election every time with huge margin. Most freedom fighters had also worked for him in his electioneering process. Nobody had ever raised the question of his involvement in war crimes. He had even secured landslide margin in the village polling centre of the present Awami League MP as an honest credible person.
The defence lawyers are holding the cross examination of the complaint in the case with their arguments focused on proving that as a fraud and thief, the complaint has brought the case against Maulana Sayeedi on the prompting of the Awami League government.
He is a victim of conspiracy, they wanted to say. The cross examination may continue for some more days.
It is interesting to note that the prosecutions had opposed the disclosure of the contents of the petitions of Hawlader to district deputy commissioner in which he described himself as a poor man to justify his prayer for help. Earlier they had also raised objections on dealing with his personal profile.
The court however allowed the defence to continue these questioning despite objection from the prosecution however saying that any irrelevant sections will be expunged formal the records.
Weekly Holiday
Witness disclosing embarrassing facts
It comes as a surprise that the complaint of the high profile case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi before the war crime tribunal is a convicted thief. He was accused of and then sentenced to imprisonment in a robbery case for breaking into the house of a member of the Hindu community in his neighbourhood in the Najirpur upazila of Pirojpur district along with some others.
The man Mahbubul Alam Hawlader who filed the case in 2009 after 38 years of the liberation war on charge of crime against humanity is also now on bail in yet another case by his first wife on charges of violence against woman and demand for dowry.
Full Story It comes as a surprise that the complaint of the high profile case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi before the war crime tribunal is a convicted thief. He was accused of and then sentenced to imprisonment in a robbery case for breaking into the house of a member of the Hindu community in his neighbourhood in the Najirpur upazila of Pirojpur district along with some others.
The man Mahbubul Alam Hawlader who filed the case in 2009 after 38 years of the liberation war on charge of crime against humanity is also now on bail in yet another case by his first wife on charges of violence against woman and demand for dowry.
An executive council member and three times elected MP from a Pirojpur constituency, Sayedee has been indicted on 20 counts of crimes against humanity at the International Crimes Tribunal set up to deal with such offences during Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 1971. His alleged crimes include murder, rape, loot and arson.
During the questioning by the defence lawyers in the tribunal, the complaint said he was a freedom fighter and had worked as the chief intelligence gathering agent for the freedom fighters in the district at that time. But the questioning revealed that he was only a 12 year minor at that time raising the question whether his claims were credible at all. How a minor boy could discharge such risky duty to cover military operations and gather secret information?
On further questioning Hawlader said he did not have the habit of reading newspapers at that time and but did not know the names of peace committee members of the district and the local upazilas. Neither could he recollect who were his immediate boss and other persons in the network. More interestingly, he has failed to name the place or the camp where he was trained as an intelligence gathering agent.
He told the court early last week that as a freedom fighter he is now living on state allowances. His second wife is also receiving state allowance to manage a square meal for the family members.
During the questioning on last Wednesday doubts further deepened on his claim as a freedom fighter. He told the court that he was not on the list of the freedom fighter until the last BNP government gave him the accreditation card. Further disclosures in the court showed when the present Awami League government came to power local party supporters submitted written objections to the incumbent MP Abdul Awal against Hawlader’s inclusion on the list of freedom fighters. The Lawmaker had then stopped his allowances which he was receiving as a freedom fighter on verbal instructions to the concerned authorities.
This prompted the defence lawyers to question whether under the circumstances he struck a deal with the administration by agreeing to file the case against Maulana Sayeedi as a war crime accused in return of his government allowances. Hawlader however turned down the suggestion as not true.
However, during the questioning it was revealed that complaint was a poor person living from hand to mouth. He managed to enlist his name as a freedom fighter during the last BNP government when Maulana Sayeedi was the local lawmaker.
Sayeedi had also twice recommended his petitions to the district deputy commissioner – once for financial assistance and subsequently to help him out to get some CI sheets to make roof of his house.
On questioning how he could turn against the man who has helped him so much, he said he did not personally approach him for those recommendations. Local Freedom Fighters Command secured the recommendations and Sayedi did his job as the local MP.
He had no credible answer on a question as to why he did not file the case against Sayeedi until last year.
The defence lawyers said after the liberation war when around 300 persons were sued for their involvement in war crimes, why he had not sued him at that time. He had no answer.
The defence lawyers said Sayeedi was the three times elected MP from the same Pirojpur constituency where he won the election every time with huge margin. Most freedom fighters had also worked for him in his electioneering process. Nobody had ever raised the question of his involvement in war crimes. He had even secured landslide margin in the village polling centre of the present Awami League MP as an honest credible person.
The defence lawyers are holding the cross examination of the complaint in the case with their arguments focused on proving that as a fraud and thief, the complaint has brought the case against Maulana Sayeedi on the prompting of the Awami League government.
He is a victim of conspiracy, they wanted to say. The cross examination may continue for some more days.
It is interesting to note that the prosecutions had opposed the disclosure of the contents of the petitions of Hawlader to district deputy commissioner in which he described himself as a poor man to justify his prayer for help. Earlier they had also raised objections on dealing with his personal profile.
The court however allowed the defence to continue these questioning despite objection from the prosecution however saying that any irrelevant sections will be expunged formal the records.
Weekly Holiday
No comments:
Post a Comment