A new prosecution witness in the trial against Mir Kashem Ali said her husband had been abducted and tortured during the Liberation War at Daleem Hotel and Salma Manjil, two torture cells led by the al-Badr commander.
Zulekha Khan, 57, wife of freedom fighter Harun-or-Rashid from Chittagong town, testified at the International Crimes Tribunal 2 yesterday as the 15th witness.
In her deposition, she mentioned that her husband died on 2001. He was the general secretary of an organisation at Chittagong College named Chhatra Shakti. Mir Kashem was president on Islami Chhatra Sangha, Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing, at the same college. Zulekha added that her husband had been freed by al-Badr conditionally. Her brother was also a freedom fighter, said Zulekha who is a fashion designer by profession.
After their marriage in 1976, she came to know that her husband had played a vital role in establishing Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. He also worked as a liaison officer of sector 1. While on duty, Harun and his colleague Shahidul Alam were picked up by the al-Badr men on November 28, 1971 and taken to the city’s Daleem hotel where they were tortured for three to four days.
Harun was also confined at Salma Manjil, a torture cell in Panchlaish led by Mir Kashem, where the accused attempted to kill him five or more times. He was confined in a toilet for a couple of days. She heard that al-Badr members had killed at least 15 confined pro-liberation people there.
After her deposition, defence counsel Mizanul Islam questioned Zulekha for some time. The tribunal then adjourned the hearing until March 18. Jamaat Executive Council member Mir Kashem, who is facing 14 charges for committing crimes against humanity in 1971, was produced at the tribunal during the deposition.