Panic has gripped the families of prosecution witnesses Manik Poshari and others in the case against convicted war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee as they fear further persecution by the Jamaat leader’s supporters as the final verdict in the appeals case delivered yesterday.
Dissatisfied with the verdict of “imprisonment until death,” they think the lenient judgement did not ensure justice for the victims of atrocities committed by Sayedee and his men in Pirojpur during the 1971 Liberation War.
They expected death penalty for the war criminal who had actively participated in persecution against the Hindus and other pro-liberation people in the area as a razakar force member and founder of local Peace Committee unit.
Their concern for security has been amplified considering last year’s mayhem on state properties, law enforcers, Awami League men and the Hindus across the country, carried out in a planned way by the supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami, its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir and common Sayedee followers.
“I have already lost my house, my job and everything. My family members may be killed any time since I was one of the key witnesses,” Manik said. “Now that the court has given its final verdict, we do not have anything to say.”
He was the sixth prosecution witness in the case and testified on charge number eight which states the abduction and torture of his brother Mofizuddin Poshari and killing of Ibrahim Kutti. Sayedee was given death penalty by the tribunal in this charge while the punishment has been commuted by the Appellate Division to 12 years’ imprisonment.
“As a witness, I cannot be happy with it. The judiciary has announced what it has found proper. Who cares whether we are happy or unhappy!” he said.
Another witness Mostafa Hawlader was hacked indiscriminately allegedly by the Jamaat-Shibir men during the trial. Two days later, he died while undergoing treatment.
His son was not ready to make a comment on the judgement as he thinks now the family has become more vulnerable to attacks. “The situation is changing. Those who killed my father can do anything to us too. So it is better not to speak up this time.”
A son of the convicted war criminal Masood Sayedee has recently been elected chairman in Zianagar upazila election. Moreover, Pirojpur is considered to be a safe heaven for the Jamaat-Shibir men.
Mahbubul Alam Hawlader, the first witness of the case, now seeks security from the government. “After giving deposition in the case, we lost our friend Mostafa Hawlader while some pro-Jamaat men attacked my house too.
“The conviction has been changed at the Appellate Division today [yesterday]. Now who will assure us that they will not attack me and my family again? I am frustrated with the verdict and I have nothing to say.”
