The war crimes tribunal on Mondya accepted a prosecution plea seeking permission to place five more witnesses against Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami.
The petition was filed by prosecutor Mohammad Ali on Monday. With these, the total numbers of prosecution witnesses stands at 107, of which only 17 have deposed so far. Of the 17 witnesses, the prosecution announced one as “hostile witness” as he did not mention the name of Nizami in his deposition.
Nizami was indicted on May 28 last year on 16 counts of crimes against humanity he allegedly committed in Pabna and Dhaka during the Liberation War. The charges include genocide, rape, torture, abduction, confinement and conspiracy.
Just after the getting the approval, the prosecution placed one of the five new witnesses. However, the defence raised objection and told the tribunal that they could not cross-examine the witness without any preparation. The defence also wondered how the prosecution had known that their plea would be approved.
The tribunal too questioned the prosecutor about the presence of the new witnesses in the court and asked how they had known that they would get the chance. Prosecutor Ali said he had presumed it. Without giving any reason, the tribunal adjourned the hearing till tomorrow.
Meanwhile, accepting a defence plea, the tribunal added in their order that on that day only the deposition of the witnesses would be recorded, and the defence would conduct the cross examination on September 1.
In his submission, Ali said the investigator had been conducting further probe into the matter and they had already got some new evidence and witnesses. The tribunal then asked how could there be further investigations, once the charges have already been framed.
Tribunal Chairman Justice ATM Fazle Kabir said: “You have already placed a hundred witnesses and now do you need more?” Justice Jahangir Hossain, member of the panel, said, “You have always accused defence of delaying the proceedings. Now we can see the opposite situation. In this case, it seems that the prosecution is trying to prolong the proceedings.”
As the prosecutor tried to quote a provision in the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 that allows for more witnesses, the chairman said: “You have to satisfy the tribunal first.”
The defence filed a written objection. Mizanul Islam said: “There is no scope of further investigation by the investigating officer once the final report is submitted. They are trying to hamper the preparation of the defence by changing the prosecution witnesses now.”
The tribunal said: “Hearing the prosecution on the matter, we are inclined to accept the prosecution plea. For the sake of justice, we are permitting them to produce five more witnesses.”
