The International Crimes Tribunal acquitted a counsel of executed war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury of contempt charges yesterday.
Headed by Justice Anwarul Haque, the tribunal exonerated Fakhrul Islam after he tendered an unconditional apology and cautioned him against repeating such conduct.
Fakhrul had filed a petition in December 2012 after an alleged Skype conversation between the tribunal’s former chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq and Brussels-based legal expert Ahmed Ziauddin was leaked.
The defence petition had asked the tribunal to clarify its independence beyond any doubt and whether any of its members – all of whom had served with Justice Huq at some point – were privy to the alleged conversation.
On January 14 the following year, the tribunal show-caused Fakhrul and ordered him to explain why he should not be charged with contempt for interfering in tribunal’s proceedings. The tribunal noted that the petition had been filed to demean its judges.
Former ICT-1 chairman Justice Huq resigned on December 11, 2012 in the wake of controversy over his judicial conduct as he had been allegedly receiving advice through regular email communication and Skype conversations with Ziauddin.
The tribunals were reconstituted shortly afterwards with Justice ATM Fazle Kabir and Justice Obaidul Hassan as chairmen of ICT-1 and ICT-2 respectively.
The ICT-1 sentenced Salauddin Quader to death on October 1, 2013 for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. He was executed on November 22 last year.