The hearing in the trial of Zahid Hossain Khokon alias Khokon Razakar is scheduled to close today as the prosecution and defence concluded their arguments yesterday. The International Crimes Tribunal 1 may keep it CAV (waiting for verdict) today.
Prosecutor Mokhlesur Rahman Badal concluded his arguments during the morning session, seeking the death sentence for Khokon, claiming that all charges against the accused have been proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Badal told the tribunal that relatives of his victims were forced to dump bodies of their loved ones in mass graves without their last rites, out of fear of Khokon and his cohorts. Even children, women and elderly people were not spared Khokon Razakar’s brutality, he added.
Md Abdus Shukur Khan, state-appointed defence counsel for Khokon, argued that his client MA Zahid was not the same Zahid Hossain Khokon who was charged with committing crimes against humanity. He claimed that the investigation officer did not do his job properly and included many different aliases for the accused.
After his concluding remarks, the tribunal adjourned the hearing till Thursday, saying they might close the case for verdict, after hearing comments on legal points by any party interested.
Khokon, former mayor of Faridpur’s Nagarkanda municipality and a BNP leader, was indicted in absentia on October 9 last year, on 11 charges of crimes against humanity.
During the proceedings, the prosecution called 24 witnesses against Khokon, while no witnesses were produced for the fugitive accused. The accused is currently in Sweden.
Witness’ deposition in Qaisar case
Meanwhile, a new prosecution witness against another accused, Syed Mohammad Qaisar, told the International Crime Tribunal 2 yesterday how Qaisar formed the “Qaisar Bahini” to help Pakistani occupation forces, and carry out brutal acts during the Liberation War.
Sixty-three-year-old Mohammad Yakub Ali, who was a student of class ten of Andi Ura Ummutun Nessa High School of Habiganj during 1971, gave a brief deposition before the tribunal adjourned the session for the day.
The witness said, on March 25, 1971 Qaisar formed a gang under his own name to assist the Pakistani Army, adding that the accused had also become the Razakar commander of Madhabpur.
“On April 27, when the Pakistan Army along with Qaisar Bahini came to the southern end of our village, I told my relatives to escape while I hid at Madhabpur market. They set fire to the western part of the market and started looting shops. They burnt at least 200 shops including the ones belonging to Sachindra Babu, Kamini Roy, Hirendra Lal Roy,” Yakub said.
“After that they [Qaisar Bahini] went to the north end of Madhabpur market and shot dead at least four unarmed civilians including Ohid Hossain Pathan,” the witness said.
Yakub also described the atrocities that took place at Katiara, a village of fishermen, however he admitted that he had heard about most of these from his seniors and was not an eyewitness to them.
The witness further described how Qaisar Bahini looted and burnt his house before the Pakistani Army and its cohorts killed at least 15 civilians at the southern part of his house. On April 28, Yakub went to the nearby village of Sandadil, where he heard about the killing of Ohid Pathan from Nayeb Ali, and later met Ohid’s son Mohammad Ali Pathan in Mouzpur.
The defence also concluded its cross examination of the second prosecution witness in the trial of Mawlana Abdus Subhan at the same tribunal, before the tribunal adjourned the hearing until April 27 as it wanted to continue the trial against yet another accused, Mir Kashem, during this time.