The Law Ministry has taken an initiative to amend the International Crimes Tribunal Act, keeping the provision of trying organisations such as the Jamaat-e-Islami and including the scope of bail for the accused.
The ministry had already prepared the draft of the amendment, which would be placed to the cabinet after Eid-ul-Fitr, officials told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Law Minister Anisul Haque said: “There is no option but to amend the ICT act to try Jamaat-e-Islami as a war criminal organisation. We are considering amending the law.
“We may decide on the matter after Eid-ul-Fitr.”
However, when asked about keeping the provision of bail for the accused, the minister refused to make any comment. He only said: “Nothing is finalised yet. It may take time to finalise the matter and we will inform the media of the amendment before it is placed in parliament.”
A number of officials at the ministry, however, confirmed that the provisions for trying organisations on war crime charges and bail for the accused would be kept in the law.
In the draft, the ministry proposed inserting the word “organisation” in section 20(2) of the ICT act so that organisations could also be tried along with individuals for war crime charges, they said.
It would also keep the provision for the tribunal to take the offence in cognisance if an organisation was found guilty.
The provision for allowing bail for the accused would be included in the law.
Many officials said the amendment initiative had been taken to try Jamaat as a war criminal organisation following the tribunal’s judgments on trying anti-Liberation War organisations.
The investigation agency of crimes against humanity finalised its report on Jamaat last March, but it could not submit the report to the tribunal as there was no provision of trying an organisation in the act.
On May 29, the law minister informed the media of the loopholes in the act, saying the government would have to amend the law if it wanted to try Jamaat.
The initiative of trying Jamaat has since stuck in that stage. Later, the Law Ministry was instructed to prepare a draft of the amendment.
Ministry officials said the draft of the amendment would be sent to the cabinet after Eid.
The ministry may also consider dissolving one of the two tribunals as the number of cases has decreased. The officials said the thought was, however, still at a primary level. The prosecution team may also be reorganised, they said.