The investigation agency of the International Crimes Tribunal is ready to hand over to the prosecution its report on Jamaat-e-Islami’s role as a political party during the 1971 Liberation War.
In its report, the probe team has prayed to the tribunal for imposing a ban on Jamaat as a political party and confiscation of its property.
If the party is charged with war crimes, it will be the first such case in Bangladesh.
The agency may submit the report to the prosecution tomorrow, said sources. Later the prosecution would scrutinise the report and submit formal charges before the tribunal.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Jamaat had been involved in all kinds of conspiracies to ruin the liberation movement and carried out inhuman atrocities in 1971.
The agency has mentioned in the report the names and positions of Jamaat’s central leaders during the nine-month-long war. It also covers Jamaat’s activities from its very birth up to the present day.
On March 10, Investigation Officer Matiur Rahman placed the findings before the agency that scrutinised the documents in the last 12 days.
On August 18 last year, the investigation agency filed a complaint against “anti-liberation” political party Jamaat for its complicity in crimes against humanity and role as an organisation during the war.
Sanaul Huq, a senior member of the agency, said: “We have taken seven months to collect information and documents. Now we are satisfied with the job and ready to submit it.”
He said preparation had been taken by the investigators and the prosecution team together to set the mechanism of bringing charges against the political party.
Jamaat was banned just after the independence on December 16, 1971 but was later allowed to return to politics during the regime of BNP founder Gen Ziaur Rahman who lifted the ban on religion-based politics.
Justice seekers and war crimes victims and young generation have long been demanding the trial of Jamaat as a party.
Prosecutor Tureen Afroz, who is coordinating the case, said: “We will ensure by this trial that Jamaat, with their same ideology, could never be able to come as political party again.”
In the recent verdicts by the two war crimes tribunals, Jamaat has been labelled as a “criminal organisation.”
The tribunal 1 in the verdict against Ghulam Azam, the chief of Jamaat during the war, observed: “...Jamaat-e-Islami, as a political party under the leadership of accused [later convicted] Prof Ghulam Azam, intentionally functioned as a criminal organisation especially during the War of Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.”
Moreover, on August 1 last year, the High Court declared illegal Jamaat’s registration with the Election Commission as its party charter was contradictory with the country’s constitution and the EC-related laws. The matter is now pending with the Appellate Division as the party filed an appeal against the judgement.
The trial of Jamaat is now possible as on February 17 last year parliament amended the International Crimes Tribunal Act, 1973, allowing the state to appeal against inadequate sentencing of a convict and paving the way to hold trial of organisations for their criminal activities during the war.
IO Matiur said: “In my investigation, I observed that crimes like genocide and murders were committed as per the directives and plans of Jamaat.”
With regard to the provision of punishment for an organisation, prosecutor Tureen said Jamaat could be easily punished as a criminal organisation under section 20 (2) of the tribunal law.
If proved, the provision states that the tribunal may give death penalty or any other punishment which may include ban or confiscation of property of an organsiation.
The probe agency officials said they would rely upon statements of Islamic scholars, victims and their family members, and researchers of war crimes. They also worked on the books published by Jamaat leaders including Abbas Ali Khan and the video footages of before and after the liberation.
A member of the agency seeking anonymity said: “We will challenge the political ideology and philosophy of the organisation’s founder,
Abul Ala Maududi, and have prepared a list of policy witnesses and researchers who will be produced before the tribunal.”
