Sanowar Jahan, wife of death row convict Abdul Quader Molla, yesterday claimed that the prosecution witness, because of whose testimony the Appellate Division gave death penalty to the Jamaat leader, was a fake witness.
The same allegation was raised by Jamaat-e-Islami in its statement released on Sunday, soon after the issuance of the death warrant by the International Crimes Tribunal.
The apex court, in its full verdict, said witness Momena Begum, a rape victim, was undoubtedly reliable.
Quader Molla was sentenced to death by a majority on charges of killing Hazrat Ali as well as three members of his family on March 26, 1971, when the rape also occurred.
Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, who dissented with the other four panel judges, gave a life sentence to the Jamaat assistant secretary general by relying on the testimony of Momena.
Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha observed: “She is a very natural eyewitness...The defence thoroughly cross examined her but failed to shake any of her statements...[Chief defence counsel Abdur] Razzak finds it difficult to discard her testimony and simply pointed out that she was a vitally interested witness.”
Justice Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik observed: “We are unable to accede to [Abdur] Razzak’s contention that the third prosecution witness was a hearsay witness. Except as to the killing of her father, she is an eyewitness. She was no doubt an eyewitness on the act of rape committed on her sister by those who came with Quader Molla. She was also an eyewitness on the slaughtering of her pregnant mother, her three sisters, two year old brother, and of course as to the act of dragging her father out by Quader Molla. She was also the circumstantial witness as to the rape committed on her ownself.”