The war crimes tribunal has set Sunday for recording statement of the third defence witness in favour of BNP leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, who faces 23 charges of crimes against humanity.
The prosecution on Tuesday completed cross-examination of the second witness, Nizam Uddin, a friend of the accused.
The defence sought three weeks to produce the third witness. But the tribunal rejected the plea and asked the defence to produce new witness Wednesday.
Salahuddin Quader testified as the first defence witness. The tribunal allowed five defence witnesses to give deposition in the case.
The three others are businessman Salman F Rahman; Quiyum Reza Chowdhury, a trusty board member of Asia Pacific University; and Justice Shamim Hasnain.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, defence counsel Ahsanul Haque told the tribunal that one of the witnesses was out of the country at the moment, and another was a justice. So the defence needed an adjournment of at least one month.
The tribunal rejected the petition and set Sunday for deposition of the next witness.
The BNP leader, who became MP from Chittagong for six times, is accused of masterminding the 1971 killing of Nutan Chandra Singha, a philanthropist and industrialist in the port city.
In the opening statement, the prosecution said the accused along with his father Fazlul Quader Chowdhury created havoc in Chittagong in 1971, particularly in Raozan and Rangunia areas, by massacring many Hindus in Madhya Gohira and Jagatmalla Para.
The accused has been denying all the charges claiming that he had been in Pakistan between March 29, 1971 and April 20, 1974.