Shamsul Huq Nannnu, a witness in the war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, has protested a report carried by The Telegraph, a British daily, and a statement by Toby Cadman, a British lawyer cum lobbyist for the Jamaat.
He also denounced a video footage in the YouTube, allegedly showing him giving a statement on how he was forced by the government with threats and financial inducements to give evidence in the case.
Speaking at a press briefing held at the prosecutor’s office of the International Crimes Tribunal, Nannu, said: “The interview on YouTube was done with imposter pretending to be me. It is totally forged and false. A different person in my disguise gave the false statement in the interview, saying, I had given deposition under the government’s pressure and after taking various advantages.
“I gave the testimony to the court willingly about Nizami’s brutality. None has forced me in this regard. However, after the testimony, my family and I are at risk of attack by the Jamaat-Shibir activists. They have been issuing threats in different ways,” Nannu said.
At the briefing, Nannu condemned the Telegraph for using Toby Cadman’s “false” statement as well as for not verifying it thoroughly before publishing the article. He condemned Cadman as well for siding with lies.
Nannu said he had analysed both Telegraph’s report and video footage in the YouTube in depth. “The man, who has been filmed in the interview is not me. I have a moustache and long curly hairs, which he does not have. There are much dissimilarity between me and that person. That person is not even known to me.”
Hailing from village Chhoto Pathail Hat in Nagdamra union under Sathiya upazila in Pabna, Nannu is a lawyer at the Supreme Court by profession. He was a vice-president of Rajshahi University unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League, students’ wing of ruling Awami League, and later he became an acting president of the unit.
Cadman in his interview with the Telegraph mentioned that the trials of his client Abdul Quader Mollah and others accused of war crimes had been politically-motivated.
Citing the video footage, Cadman claimed that the person was forced to give deposition and take financial facilities.
