Wife of veteran writer and journalist Shahidullah Kaiser Monday told the war crimes tribunal that one al-Badr member involved in the abduction of her husband mentioned the names of Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan as his superiors.
Panna Kaiser, the 13th prosecution witness, identified Khaleque Majumder, who had been caught by Zahir Raihan younger brother of the martyred intellectual and his fellows after the war. Khaleque then admitted that he just followed orders of his superiors.
Shahidullah had been picked up on December 14, 1971 and his body was never found.
Khaleque also mentioned the names of Mueen and Ashraf at the court when he faced trial under the Collaborators Act in 1972. Panna Kaiser had testified at that court too, under her family name Saifunnahar Chowdhury.
“Khaleque was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment. But he was later forgiven and released by the Ziaur Rahman-led government. I have waited 42 years for justice of my husband. I had got only 2 years and 10 months as the wife of Shahidullah. Please ensure justice for me and for us who lost their dear and near ones,” Panna burst into tears at the International Crimes Tribunal 2.
Panna submitted her deposition for around three and a half hours. After the lunch break, the defence cross examined her.
Mueen and Ashraf are jointly facing 11 charges of crimes against humanity that includes killing of 18 intellectuals, only days ahead of the country’s victory. According to the prosecution, Mueen was al-Badr’s “operation-in-charge” while Ashrafuzzaman played the role of “chief executor.” They have reportedly been staying in London and New York.
The witness said: “Zahir came back from India on December 18, 1971. As soon as he arrived in Bangladesh, he formed a committee to find out the collaborators’ camps. I, Hasan Imam, Alamgir Kabir and barrister Amirul Islam were in that committee. Zahir was crazily searching for the whereabouts of his brother or at least the abductors’. It was may be December 19 or 20 when Zahir brought a person and tied him up downstairs. I identified him as the person whose mask I uncovered during the night when my husband was abducted.”
Panna said seeing Khaleque she had screamed and started to hurt him out of despair. At one point she lost consciousness, but could still hear him answering to interrogation by Zahir and others. “I heard him saying, ‘I did not kill him, I just followed superior’s order and handed him over to superior Mueen Uddin’s hand.’ I was not hearing well, since I was frustrated and shocked. But I heard Ashrafuzzaman’s name too,” she added.
Describing the abduction of Shahidullah, she said on December 14 night, three to four youths covering their face from below the eyes with black clothes came to their house at 29 BK Ganguly Lane, Kayettuli in Dhaka.
“Those youths came up to upstairs and asked who was Shahidullah Kaiser. My husband answered, ‘I am.’ Then they immediately held the hand of Shahidullah and took him out to the balcony. I ran behind them and held Shahidullah’s another hand. It was a curfew night, but with my free hand I turned on the balcony light.”
She was trying to take off the abductor’s mask. At one point, with the help of her sister-in-law, Panna managed to unmask one. “I saw one abductor’s face in the light of the balcony while I was screaming hard.”
Sixty-three-year-old Panna told the tribunal that she had identified this person when Zahir confined him and brought to their Kayettuli house.
The witness said on December 16 when everybody was celebrating the victory, she along with her brother-in-law Zakaria Habib went to Rayerbazar brickfield. “I did not know we were looking for a dead Shahidullah until I stepped down into that killing field. I was turning every single body. Those decomposed bodies were lying in the mud. I also saw [poet] Meherunninsa’s body there. But I could not find Shahidullah’s body in that muddy field with bodies lying here and there. Later I decided I would not look for his body anymore. He will remain in my heart,” Panna said in a trembling voice.
The tribunal set today for further procedure of the case.
