DHAKA, Nov 22, 2017 (BSS) – The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in its 29th judgment today sentenced six Gaibandha war criminals including former Jamaat lawmaker Abu Saleh Mohammad Abdul Aziz to death for committing crimes against humanity in 1971.
“They be convicted accordingly and sentenced there under to death under section 20(2) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973,” said Justice Md Shahinur Islam, chairman of the three-member panel of the tribunal.
The court passed the order as the three charges framed against the six war criminals were proved beyond any doubt.
The six convicts are – Abu Saleh Mohammad Abdul Aziz Miah alias Ghoramara Aziz, Md. Ruhul Amin alias Monju, Md. Abdul Latif, Abu Muslim Mohammad Ali, Md Najmul Huda and Md Abdur Rahim Miah.
Of the six, only Latif is in jail now and were produced before the tribunal during the pronouncement of the judgment.
“We are happy by the judgment as the war criminals carried out monstrous crimes in 1971. They killed 13 incumbent union parishad chairmen among their different barbaric crimes,” said prosecutor Syed Sayedul Haque Suman.
The convicts were handed down life imprisonment for charges number 1 and were subsequently sentenced to death for charges number 2 and three, he added.
Senior prosecutor Dr Tureen Afroz too expressed satisfaction over the judgment, saying the tribunal has asked home secretary and inspector general of police to take actions to ensure arrest of the five fugitive convicted war criminals.
Earlier on 10.30 am, the tribunal chief started reading out the summary of the 166-page judgment.
All the death awardees were members of Jamaat-e-Islami or its student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha during the War of Liberation.
The tribunal on October 23 kept the judgment on CAV (curia advisory vult, a Latin legal term meaning the court awaits verdict) after concluding hearing the arguments of the case for second time.
The recently reconstituted ICT-1 on October 12 fixed October 22 for rehearing the arguments in the case.
Earlier, the tribunal on May 9 had kept the verdict in the case on CAV for the first time.
“But due to death of Justice Anwarul Haque, former chairman of the tribunal, government had to reconstitute the tribunal and the new tribunal decided to rehear the arguments,” prosecutor Syed Sayedul Haque Suman told BSS.
The tribunal on June 28, 2016, framed three specific charges against the convicts including murder, confinement, torture and abduction.