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Mojaheed faces 34 charges
[Bangla Daily Star] The International Crimes Tribunal yesterday accepted the charges against Jamaat-e-Islami... The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independentbranch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed in connection with crimes against humanity during the Liberation War and fixed February 23 for hearing on the charge framing. The prosecution on January 16 submitted 34 charges of crimes against humanity against Mojaheed. Sources told The Daily Star then that the charges against the Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general were of being involved in the killings of many, including freedom fighters and intellectuals, during the war in 1971. The court yesterday said it examined the formal charges, probe reports and documents submitted by the prosecution, and preliminarily found that there is enough evidence for a trial against Mojaheed, now in jail. It asked the prosecution to submit copies of formal charges and other relevant documents to the office of tribunal registrar by January 31 so that Mojaheed's lawyers can collect those for his defence. The three-judge tribunal headed by its Chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq ordered the defence to collect the copies from the tribunal registrar's office on February 1. During the proceedings, the tribunal expressed the hope that none from the prosecution or the defence would disclose to the media the charges brought against the accused as the hearing on them is pending. Justice Nizamul Huq said, "The journalists are so powerful and they want to find out everything." His comment came when Mojaheed's counsel Munshi Ahsan Kabir told the court that the prosecution disclosed the charges against the accused to the media even before the defence got hold of them. The defence was prejudiced due to disclosure of the charges, as the defence could not give any reply to the prosecution without getting the charges, he said. The tribunal chairman said the court agrees with the counsel. Following the tribunal's remark, prosecutors refused to say anything to news hounds about the charges brought against Mojaheed. Posted by: Fred 2012-01-27 |
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