The International Crimes Tribunal 1 yesterday deferred the hearing on charge framing against Mir Kashem Ali, an alleged al-Badr leader and chairman of Diganta Media Corporation, to July 25.
The tribunal set the date upon a plea by Abu Bakar Siddique, counsel of the accused. The lawyer sought time for another six weeks and argued that they needed the time to study the prosecution papers to get prepared.
Earlier on May 26, the tribunal took the formal charges against the Jamaat leader into cognisance and fixed June 27 for the indictment hearing. Following a time petition, the hearing was deferred to yesterday.
The prosecution brought 14 charges against Mir Kashem and submitted the charges to the tribunal on May 16. The charges include murder, abduction, torture, arson, looting and for dumping bodies.
According to the prosecution, Mir Kashem was commander of al-Badr (a para militia group that assisted Pakistani occupation army during the Liberation War) of Chittagong district.
Mir Kashem also set up makeshift camps at different places of the port city where people who were assisting the freedom fighters were brought in and tortured. Allegations against him also include mass killings at Ashadnagar and Panchlaish areas in Chittagong.
The government claims envoys from European Union countries, the US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia raised various questions about the trial of alleged war criminals because of lobbying by Jamaat.
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed on April 28 in parliament said: “Jamaat-e-Islami has signed an agreement with a US lobbyist firm to make the trials controversial. Mir Kashem Ali paid $25 million [for this purpose].” He also claimed that the government had copies of the money receipt and the agreement as proof.