On completion of placing closing arguments both by the prosecution and the defence sides, the war crimes tribunal Sunday kept the case against former BNP minister from Joypurhat Abdul Alim pending for verdict.
The International Crimes Tribunal 2 also cancelled Alim’s bail that was granted by the tribunal 1. It also asked the prison authorities to consider the octogenarian’s health conditions.
Following the order, Alim was sent to jail around 3pm.
With this, two cases against Alim and BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury are awaiting verdict. So far, the two tribunals have handed down verdicts in six cases.
Alim was indicted on June 11 last year on 17 counts of crimes against humanity. The tribunal framed the charges on three counts of genocide and 14 counts of crimes against humanity. The prosecution, however, had pressed 28 counts charges against him.
The prosecution says Alim was a leader of razakar, an auxiliary force of the Pakistani occupation army, and also chairman of Peace Committee in Joypurhat. According to the defence, he was elected Joypurhat municipality chairman in 1975 and 1977. Alim was elected as the Member of Parliament from Panchbibi constituency in 1979, 1996 and 2001.
Later, Alim first became the textile minister and later communications minister during the regime of military strongman and BNP founder General Ziaur Rahman in 1978.
According to the charges, Alim had been involved in the killing of 370 Hindus in Koroi Kadipur in Joypurhat on April 26, 1971. He was also involved in killing 10 Hindus at Uttarhat Shahor in Harunjahat under Khetlal police station in May and killing 26 young men at an open field near Joypurhat Railway Station in end-June.
Alim was granted bail on March 31, 2011 on humanitarian and medical grounds considering his age and old-age complications. Since then, Alim who is above 80 had been enjoying the bail until Sunday. He was the first war crimes accused who was granted bail.
The case has been kept in CAV (Curia Advisari Vult, a Latin term used in law to indicate that a court has decided to consider a case privately before giving judgment).
On Sunday, the tribunal of Justice Obaidul Hasan, Justice Mojibur Rahman Miah and Justice Shahinur Islam kept the case in CAV just after prosecutor Tureen Afroz and Rana Dashgupta ended placing their arguments on legal points.
Tureen said the defence’s arguments claiming that Alim had been a public representative and had not married after his wife died “does not necessarily mean he cannot be involved with crimes against humanity in 1971.”
On defence’s points that Alim had been hiding during the 1971 Liberation War, the prosecutor questionedhow did people used to visit him, meet him.
Pointing out the killings that took place in Koroi Kadipur and the killing of Sattar Pagla in Panchbibi Haat, Tureen said: “Killing someone particularly who definitely cannot be considered ‘as a threat,’ is a severe offence among the crimes against humanity.”
Prosecutor Rana said the tribunal was trying “youth Alim who was involved in crimes against humanity,” not the octogenarian Alim.
“We believe we have proved all the allegations brought against him beyond reasonable doubt. We plead for his death penalty,” he added.
