The “anti-liberation” Jamaat-e-Islami workers had joined the “paramilitary arm” groups – razakar, al-Badr and al-Shams – and killed innocent people not only for their “Save Pakistan”-ideology, but also for money and arms.
The Pakistan government had assisted these auxiliary forces with funds and fire arms to carry out atrocities against Bangalee communities across the country who were in favour of the liberation struggle.
The International Crimes Tribunal 2, headed by Justice Obaidul Hasan, Wednesday ruled “beyond reasonable doubt” that Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed had been the de facto chief of death squad al-Badr, which systematically killed hundreds of intellectuals and individuals in minority communities.
The court concluded that any punishment other than death sentence to Mujaheed could be translated into a “failure of justice.”
The judgement said: “We reiterate that it is a fact of common knowledge now that al-Badr was an armed para- military force, which was created for ‘operational’ and ‘static’ purpose of the Pakistani occupation army.”
“Al-Badr was one of the two wings of razakar force. Another wing was al-Shams,” the tribunal said quoting Mujaheed’s lawyers.
It said al-Badr acted as the Pakistan army’s “death squads” and exterminated leading left-wing professors, journalists, littérateurs, and even doctors.
“In reply to a question elicited to him by the defence [prosecution witness 17] further stated that salary and allowances were paid to razakars and al-Badr by the then East Pakistan government,” said the judgment.
“The attested photocopy of statements of razakars of Netrokona subdivision also shows that the al-Badr men were provided with arms under the supervision of the then East Pakistan government,” it said.
“These two facts are indicative to conclude that the al-Badr force too was an ‘auxiliary force’ as it acted for ‘operational’ and ‘static’ purpose of the Pakistani occupation army.”
The three-member tribunal was “convinced beyond reasonable doubt” that there had been a de facto and informal superior-subordinate relationship between Mujahid and the al-Badr force.
He had effective control on the al-Badr men and had reason to remain aware of the activities carried out by them, chiefly by virtue of his position in Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat.
The tribunal said al-Badr was created “not to” maintain peace and public order. “Rather it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that it had carried out series of untold criminal activities, in furtherance of policy and plan of the Pakistan occupation army in a systematic manner and the members of the organisation were provided training and arms.”
On the killing of the intellectuals on December 14, 1971, the judgment inferred that the “large scale killing of intellectuals” was aimed at furthering a common purpose under a designed plan. It shocked the conscience of humankind and the Bangalee nation.
Terming the slain intellectuals “the best sons and daughters of the soil,” the tribunal said the killings were carried out to “cripple the Bangalee nation.”
“Designed plan, pattern of such selective but large scale killing of intellectuals belonging to different professions inescapably aggravate the extent of the criminal acts and liability of the accused as well,” said the verdict that handed him death sentence for such crimes.
“Letters of law cannot remain non-responsive to the relatives of hundreds of martyr victims and the nation too who have been still carrying colossal and unspeakable trauma,” it said adding: “We are of the unanimous view that there would be failure of justice in case capital punishment is not awarded for the crimes.”
