The interim government is forming another International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for trials over crime against humanity, including charges of committing mass killings. The law ministry will issue a circular regarding the formation of the new tribunal very soon.
The new tribunal will be housed in the building next to the existing tribunal. Renovation of the building is already in full swing at the old High Court premises.
The ICT is holding trials over crimes against humanity committed during the liberation war of 1971. At the same time, the trials over the crimes against humanity during the July uprising are also under proceedings of the tribunal.
Besides, the tribunal is also holding trials over the crimes committed during the last 15 and half years of Awami League regime, including enforced disappearances and targeted killings. However, trials over the crimes committed during the July uprising are getting the most importance at the tribunal now. The decision to form ICT-2 came as part of the government initiative to expedite the trial proceedings over the July massacre.
The government has the authority to form several tribunals as per the International Criminal Law. Each tribunal is led by a chairman. Apart from that, each tribunal must have two to maximum four members. As such, there will be a minimum of three justices, including the chairman in Tribunal-2.
Speaking regarding the formation of the new tribunal to Prothom Alo, law adviser Asif Nazrul said on 26 April that the ICT-2 was likely to be formed by the next two weeks as the number of authenticated cases after verification was rising. The government wants to depose these cases a little faster.
Adviser Asif Nazrul further said, “It took time to find an eligible and interested justice for the chairman post. Otherwise, it would have been formed a lot earlier. Now the government has found the perfect fit for the tribunal, experienced and renowned law experts.”
Trial proceedings at the tribunal
The ousted Awami League government first formed a three-member tribunal on 25 March 2010 under the International Criminal (Act), 1973. Trial of crime against humanities committed during the liberation was the main focus of the tribunal back then. Later, another tribunal was formed on 12 March 2012 to further speed up the trial proceedings. So far, the Tribunal-1 has delivered verdict in 44 cases and Tribunal-2 in 11 cases.
As of now, six of the prime accused have been hanged on charges of crime against humanity during the liberation war after being sentenced to death by the two tribunals and other subsequent legal procedures. Of them, five were top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami. They are – the then Jamaat ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, assistant secretary generals Abdul Quader Mollah and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and central executive committee member Mir Kashem Ali. Apart from that, the then BNP standing committee member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was also hanged for crime against humanity.
The second tribunal almost became ineffective by the end of 2015. However, proceedings at the tribunal continued. Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August in face of the mass uprising of students and people, Tribunal-1 was reformed. Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mazumdar was made the chair of the tribunal. The other two members of the tribunal are justice Md Shafiul Alam Mahmud and justice Md Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.
So far, the Tribunal-1 has delivered verdict in 44 cases and Tribunal-2 in 11 cases. As of now, six of the prime accused have been hanged on charges of crime against humanity during the liberation war after being sentenced to death by the two tribunals and other subsequent legal procedures. Of them, five were top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami
Deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and top echelon of the ousted government have been made accused in the cases filed with the ICT over the July massacre. Besides, several former top police officials are also named among the accused. So far three cases have been filed against Sheikh Hasina with the tribunal.
The ousted prime minister has been accused of crimes against humanity, including mass killing in one case. She has been made accused in another case filed of targeted killings and enforced disappearances during the 15-year-rule of the Awami League. The third case against Sheikh Hasina was lodged over the massacre at a Hefajat-e-Islam rally in the city’s Shapla Chatwar in Motijheel back in 2013.
Prosecution sources say of the three cases, there has been notable progress in the investigation into the case filed on the allegation of crime against humanity during the July protest. The tribunal has set 24 June as the deadline to submit the investigation report.
Renovation underway at new tribunal building
A building right beside the Tribunal-1 is being renovated for the Tribunal-2. The building had been lying almost abandoned at the old High Court premises for a long time.
Visiting the area on 27 April, it was seen that the renovation was in full swing. Various construction materials have been piled up in front of the building. The work on painting the outside wall of the building is nearly finished. The workers have already started painting the inside wall. In the other part of the building, workers were seen repairing the floor, walls and the staircase. There were also electricians setting up air-conditioners in different parts of the building.
Meanwhile, the families of the July martyrs have taken the government decision to form another tribunal for the trials of people involved in the July massacre positively.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, tribunal prosecutor (administration) Gazi Monawar Hussain Tameem said the renovation works on the second tribunal building is almost done. However, if the tribunal is formed before the end of the renovations, the government can launch its activity in the space used as the court by the existing tribunal.
Martyrs' families see hope
There are now 17 prosecutors in the tribunal prosecution. Besides, there are 26 officials in the investigating agency. The post of the coordinator (chief) of the investigating agency was vacant for more than a month. Later on 30 April, retired police official Ansar Uddin Khan Pathan was appointed to the post.
Relevant people say tribunal proceedings are still in the pre-trial phase. At this point, the work of the investigating agency is so important because it is their task to investigate complaints and prepare a report for the prosecution. After that, the prosecution reviews the report and officially frames charges and submits it to the tribunal. The official trial mainly starts after the tribunal receives complaints from the prosecution.
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office held a view-exchange meeting with the newspersons to provide updates on the progress of the tribunal's trial proceedings. The Chief Prosecutor’s Office informed in the meeting that a total of 22 miss cases had been registered since the reformation of the tribunal. Some 141 persons have been made accused in these cases, including Awami League president and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Some 54 of the accused have been arrested and 87 are absconding.
Since the restructure of the tribunal, the prosecution and investigating agency received 339 complaints as of 10 April. Investigations into 39 of these complaints were underway at the time. Some 22 of these complaints were registered as miss cases as the complaints were found to be true in the primary investigation.
Meanwhile, the families of the July martyrs have taken the government decision to form another tribunal for the trials of people involved in the July massacre positively.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Rabiul Awal, general secretary of ‘July 24 Shaheed Paribar Society’, a platform of family members of July martyrs, said another tribunal would expedite the trial proceedings. However, the investigation agency and the prosecution need to act more sincerely to ensure speedy trials, he said adding, “More efficient manpower is needed in these two bodies of the tribunal.”
*This report appeared on the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for English by Ashish Basu