A top religious leader of Bangladesh, victim of politically motivated case
Oct 6, 2011
BDINN report
Allama Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, senior leader from Bangladesh's largest Islamic party has been charged with war crimes for allegedly leading groups that took part in killing, looting, arson and rape of Bangladeshis during the country's 1971 independence war against Pakistan.
Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan that year – with help from India – after a nine-month war.
A special tribunal has been up by the Bangladesh government to deal with charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the war.
The tribunal accepted 20 of 31 charges filed by the prosecution against Delwar Hossain Sayeedi of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, including those that he aided Pakistan.
Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed an estimated 3 million people, raped about 200,000 women and forced millions to flee their homes during the war.
Sayeedi is accused of being involved in the killing of more than 50 people, torching villages, rape, looting and forcibly converting Hindus to Islam. He has denied the allegations.
Mr Sayedee is among seven people, including two from the main opposition Bangladeshi Nationalist Party, facing trial. All of them deny the accusations and accuse the government of carrying out a vendetta.
The party says the charges against its leaders are politically motivated. Jamaat-e-Islami was a key partner in the 2001-2006 government headed by Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister and current opposition leader.
Zia, the longtime political rival of the current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has called the tribunal a farce.
The international community has called on the Bangladesh government to ensure that the tribunal is free and impartial.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has called for changes to the tribunal, including allowing the accused to question its impartiality, which current law prohibits. Human Rights Watch says the tribunal needs to change some of its procedures to ensure a fair trial which meets international standards.
"It's politically motivated case. It aims at tarnishing the image of my client," said Sayedee's lawyer Tajul Islam.
The lawyer of Maulana Delawar Hossain Sayeedi argued in the tribunal not to form charge against his client as the charges of war crime against his client is not specific.
The prosecution of the tribunal could not make any specific charge of war crime against Sayeedi. Claiming this he said "Though a lot of stories has been stated but are not specified when and where these occurred".
Strangely there is no specific evidence against Sayedee of being relevant with these stories of Pirojpur.
There is no mention in the charge sheet that who is killed by him, where, in which date and time, and what was his role in the assassination during the Liberation War of 1971.
The Govt. has urged only that Maulana Sayeedi has killed 40 people somewhere once in a day during the war. In reply of this urge of the Govt., the lawyers said more that on the basis of this type of imaginary and rootless charge sheet the arrangement of such trial against any prisoner is beyond example.
As per defence lawyer, there are so many weakness and incompleteness in to the International Crime Law. The trial is being performed without defining Crime.
'Crime' is not defined in this law.
'Crime' is not defined in this law. Trial cannot be performed without defining Crime referred to various International Criminal Court Laws and the decisions regarding this.
Bangladesh Supreme court has some positive decisions to accept International Laws if they are relevant with Bangladesh.
It is mentioned in the Article 25 of the Constitution of Bangladesh that the base of international relation will be to respect the principles mentioned in the international laws and United Nations contacts. So, Bangladesh should enrich laws picking from international laws where law is incomplete or weak.
Practically there is no legal base of the charge against Mr. Sayeedi. There is no mention of his crime in the charge sheet in any occurrence.
It is said that rape has been occurred, but not said to whom and when it has been conducted.
It is said that property has been destroyed but not said about quantity.
No logical information regarding killings is mentioned in specific charges.
No trial may be conducted if there is no mention of the name and address of the victim and specific mention of time.
Charge has been formed from the speeches of the witnesses
According to Syed Haider, one of the tribunal prosecutor charge has been formed from the speeches of the witnesses. We have mentioned what they have said. After all these things, if crime is not proven we have nothing to do.
Nothing is mentioned specifically about the name of the place of crime. The charge mentioned only the name of the village, but no mention under which union or thana.
Interestingly the charge mentioned that Mr. Sayeedi has killed that person in any day between March 25 to Dec. 16, 1971. How it comes? You didn't mention time specifically."
The explanation of Govt. prosecutor in this regarding is that, "the man who was killed then could tell specifically that I died on that day.' He argued that," After passing so many days it is not possible to mention more specific time. Setting example he said, "A wife has been raped in front of his husband or a son has been killed in front of his mother … Can that husband or the mother remember the time of occurrence?" Then he added, "You may accept the evidence, may accept or reject it partially or may reject it totally – that's after you. But we have tried to prove the crime."
