Proceedings of 9 war crimes cases going on at ICT

Proceedings of nine cases are going on at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1, one of the two special courts in the country to hold the trial of people accused of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in 1971, reports BSS.

More cases are waiting in line to be heard as the investigation agency of the ICT has already finalized its probe and submitted reports of 11 more cases to the prosecution.

The ICT-1 already passed judgments in 17 cases, including those against Jamaat leaders Ghulam Azam, Delwar Hossain Sayedee, Matiur Rahman Nizami and ATM Azharul Islam and former BNP lawmaker Salauddin Qader Chowdhury.

The ICT-2, which remained non-functioning from September 15, 2015, had delivered verdicts in 11 cases, including those against Abul Kalam Azad alias Bacchu Razakar, Jamaat leaders Abdul Qader Mollah, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Mir Quasem Ali and Mawlana Abdus Subhan.

Of the convicted war criminals, Mollah, Kamaruzzaman, Mujahid, Mir Quasem, Nizami and Salauddin Qader Chowdhury have been executed on different occasions after completing all the legal procedures.

Former Jamaat nayeb-e-ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee, who has been handed death sentence by the ICT-1 on February 28, 2013, however, managed to save his neck as the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on September 17, 2014, commuted the death sentence to imprisonment till his natural death.

The state on January 12, 2016, filed a petition to review the apex court judgment, pleading to increase his sentence of imprisonment till natural death to the maximum punishment. Sayedee on January 17, 2016, filed his review plea, seeking acquittal from the charges of crimes against humanity.

But the apex court on May 15, 2017, dismissed both the pleas, making the war criminal to pass the rest of his life behind the bars.

Meanwhile, the ICT-1 is scheduled to pass judgment in one case any day. The case is against six war crimes accused from Gaibandha including former Jamaat lawmaker Abdul Aziz alias Ghoramara Aziz.

Earlier on May 9, the ICT-1 kept the matter on CAV (a Latin legal term meaning the court awaits judgement).