International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam has said no one will be allowed to threaten or intimidate witnesses in crimes against humanity cases or obstruct judicial proceedings.
He made the remarks while responding to questions from journalists at his office on Sunday afternoon.
Asked about allegations that witnesses were being threatened by the accused in a crimes against humanity case over incidents in Chittagong, Aminul said he had received complaints in this regard.
He said law enforcement agencies had been instructed to take necessary measures to ensure the witnesses’ security.
“If there is evidence that anyone is threatening a witness in a case, legal action can be taken,” he said.
He, however, said threats and intimidation would not be allowed to disrupt the judicial process.
“No investigation or trial before this tribunal can be obstructed through intimidation or threats,” the chief prosecutor said.
On a complaint filed by the family seeking justice for the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarwar and Meherun Runi, Aminul said the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) was currently investigating the case.
He said Megh’s maternal uncle Roman had submitted a written application to the tribunal seeking its intervention.
“Their expectation is that we will also investigate the case or assist the PBI if we receive any information,” he said, adding that the application would be reviewed.
“If the matter does not fall under a widespread or systematic offence, we will inform them accordingly,” Aminul said.
He said anyone had the right to submit an application to the tribunal and that the family had exercised that right.
“The PBI investigation is ongoing. At this point, we consider the Sagar-Runi incident an individual murder case. We will examine whether it falls within the scope of a widespread or systematic offence,” he said.
He added that the application had been accepted, although it was not a matter of formally registering a case at this stage.