The war crimes tribunal on Tuesday issued Khandker Mahbub Hossain, vice-chairman of Bangladesh Bar Council, until November 20 to explain why a contempt of court notice should not be issued against him for his comment about the trial of war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.
The three-member tribunal 1 headed by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir fixed November 20 as the date for submitting the explanation in response to a plea filed by the defence.
Earlier, the tribunal fixed October 21 for submitting the explanation saying that the allegations brought against Mahabub were logical as his statement was "threat to the judiciary."
The tribunal, however, exempted him from personally appearing before the court since he was a senior Supreme Court lawyer.
The tribunal said Mahbub’s comment after the delivery of verdict in the war crimes trial against BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was equivalent to contempt of court.
Mahbub, also an adviser to the BNP chairperson, shortly after the conviction of Salauddin Quader told the media that “each and every person” involved in the trial process would be tried if the BNP assumed power. He also said the party would hold trials for the “real war criminals.”
Prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum filed the contempt application, stating that the accused had said the trial was “biased, baseless, utterly false and fabricated, ill-motivated and not made in good faith.” Such remarks would cast doubts on the tribunal’s proceedings. They were made to scandalise the tribunal, he added.
During the hearing, the prosecution said the comments were made to threaten the security of all related parties including the chief justice, judges of both the Appellate Division and the tribunals, members of the defence and the prosecution, investigators, witnesses, and the journalists of the electronic and print media covering the trial.
The petitioner sought the issuance of contempt of order under section 11 (4) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 that stipulates imprisonment of maximum one year or a fine of Tk5,000 or both.
Recently, two participants of a talk show at Channel 24 and New York-based Human Rights Watch were issued contempt of court notices for remarks on the tribunal. The two tribunals also warned several journalists for “misreporting” the trial proceedings.
Earlier, three Jamaat-e-Islami leaders – acting secretary general Rafiqul Islam Khan, lawmaker Hamidur Rahman Azad and Assistant Secretary General of Dhaka city unit Selim Uddin – were sentenced to three months jail for threatening to stop the trial and were fined.
On February 4, speaking at a rally in Motijheel on the eve of the tribunal’s verdict in Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla’s case, Selim and Hamidur had warned the tribunal that the judges needed to think before giving out verdicts, “for they could lead the country into a civil war.”