The prosecution's last witness, the investigation officer (IO) of the case against war crimes suspect Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, ended his deposition of the investigation process to the war crimes tribunal on Monday.
The International Crimes Tribunals (ICT) was established to try those accused of committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
After the IO’s deposition, defence counsel Ahsanul Huq began his cross-examination of the witness.
Following the cross-examination the session was adjourned till Tuesday.
IO Nurul Islam’s deposition to ICT-1 and the panel of three judges headed by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir took place over several sessions starting from May 25.
Placing the evidence and documents that were submitted to the tribunal, the IO described how he organised his investigation of allegations against the accused SQ Chowdhruy for crimes against humanity.
At the end of the defence cross-examination, the prosecution will start placing its closing arguments.
Earlier 39 other witnesses gave depositions against SQ Chowdhury. The prosecution’s witnesses included Prof Dr Anisuzzaman, businessman Salimullah from Chittagong, Gouranga Singha and freedom fighter Sirajul Islam Siru Mia.
In all their depositions to the tribunal, they spoke about a torture cell in SQ Chowdhury’s residence in Chittagong’s Good’s Hill, and how he aided and abetted the Pakistani army in committing war crimes during the Liberation War.
SQ Chowdhury is the son of the then Muslim League leader Fazlul Quader Chowdhury and presently a senior BNP leader, who has been elected as an MP from Chittagong six times.
He is particularly accused of masterminding the murder of Nutan Chandra Singha, a reputed philanthropist and industrialist in the port city. The accused is said to have instigated the Pakistani army to kill Singha, when they were in favour of sparing his life during the war in 1971.
SQ Chowdhurywas arrested on December 16, 2010, and on December 19 he was shown arrested in relation to a case of war crimes and produced before the war crimes tribunal on December 30.
The prosecution pressed 24 specific charges against him on November 14, 2011. On November 17, the tribunal took 23 charges into cognizance, against the accused.
Meanwhile, in the ICT-2, senior defence counsel Abdur Razzaque placed his closing arguments on the fifth day of proceedings in favour of detained Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed.
Further proceedings in the case against Mojaheed will resume on Tuesday.