The prosecution yesterday completed its part of closing arguments against war crimes accused Mir Kashem Ali and sought capital punishment for the “Bangalee Khan” of Chittagong during the 1971 Liberation War.
Five prosecutors including Tureen Afroz submitted their argument separately against the accused, an Executive Council member of Jamaat-e-Islami and also its treasurer.
They claimed that the evidence established Mir Kashem constituted an indispensable cog in the “murdering machinery” implanted at Daleem Hotel torture camp in the port city.
In the morning session, prosecutor Sultan Mahmud concluded his part of arguments on the charges. Then Tapas Kanti Baul argued on whether Kashem had been the commander of notorious group al-Badr in Chittagong and that Daleem Hotel was a torture camp led by him.
Prosecutor Rezia Sultana argued on the defence witnesses and said they had no credibility. She pointed out that the name of the mother of the first defence witness, Mamtaz Nuruddin, who claimed herself to be a sibling of Kashem, did not match with the name of the mother of the accused. “She is actually a step sister of Kashem.”
The prosecutor added that the other two defence witnesses who claimed themselves to be freedom fighters could not even tell any renowned co-fighter’s name. They also failed to mention whether collaborators’ groups including razakar, al-Badr or al-Shams existed in Chittagong town during the war.
Prosecutor Tureen took the floor and precisely pointed out how Kashem had acted on his will as the commander of al-Badr to kill innocent Bangalees at the Daleem Hotel.
Referring to the depositions of the prosecution witnesses who mentioned Kashem as the “Bangalee Khan,” she said: “The word ‘Khan’ referred to any military ruler or commander of the Pakistani occupation forces.” She argued to prove the authority of the accused as an al-Badr commander.
Kashem faces three types of liabilities including Individual Criminal Responsibility and Joint Criminal Responsibility (JCE) under Section 3(2), 4(1) 4 (2) A and B of International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973.
The accused is also responsible for his superior responsibility as the president of Islami Chhatra Sangha – then student wing of Jamaat – of Chittagong town unit and as a leader of al-Badr, according to the prosecution.
Tureen said every person of the concentration camp should take responsibility if they were part of “murdering machinery” and “when it is done systematically, Kashem is responsible for all the crimes that took place at Daleem Hotel.”
The prosecution also said Kashem had been present at the place of occurrence during relevant times. However, he was not an innocent-bystander. Evidence demonstrates enough connection between the accused and the alleged crimes.
Tureen claimed in her submission that Kashem had been responsible for genocide as he took initiatives to kill persons from same age group that satisfied the elements of genocide.
“If charges are proved beyond reasonable doubt upon the same alleged facts, it will amount to be a classic example of ‘genocide.’”
At the end of submission, she said the torture and horror circumstances of Daleem Hotel might hit the world humanity hard.
After that, the tribunal 2 adjourned the hearing until today when the defence will place its part of arguments.
The prosecution did not place any witness against charges one and five while there were some contradictions between charge 14 and deposition of the witness against it.
Apart from these, the prosecution claimed that they had proved all the other 11 charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Kashem, a key financier of the Jamaat, was indicted on September 5 last year. The tribunal 1 framed 14 charges against him. Later the case was shifted to tribunal 2 for quick disposal.
According to the government, Kashem paid a US lobbyist firm $25m to make the tribunal controversial.
The accused owns a number of businesses including Diganta Media Corporation that runs Diganta TV and the daily Naya Diganta. According to the defence, he is the founding trustee and also a member responsible for administration of the Ibn Sina Trust and director (marketing) of Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical Industries. He was also the member secretary of Islami Bank Foundation, a sister concern of Islami Bank. He is the chairman and director of Keari Limited, which is involved in real estate and tourism business.