B'desh tribunal summons top 1971 war crimes suspect

A special Bangladeshi tribunal on Monday summoned a Jamaat-e-Islami leader and a "key collaborator" of the then Pakistani junta on charges of committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

Ghulam Azam, accused of being involved in the killing of unarmed people during the notorious "Operation Searchlight" of March 25, 1971 by Pakistani troops, was asked to appear before the tribunal on January 11, court officials said.

"He (Azam) is ordered to appear before the tribunal on January 11 (Wednesday)," chairman of the three-member tribunal Justice Nizamul Haque said.

Court officials and lawyers said indictment hearing against Azam was expected to be staged on Wednesday in his presence as the tribunal primarily took into cognizance the war crimes charges against him.

Azam, who always denied charges levelled on him, was a provincial minister under the then Pakistani junta and chief of erstwhile East Pakistan wing of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami.

Azam, now in his 80s, was stripped off his nationality after he fled the country during the last phase of the Liberation War. He returned to Bangladesh in 1976 and his citizenship was restored after a legal battle.

On his return he resumed his charge as the chief of JI.

JI, which is known for opposing Bangladesh's independence, is a crucial ally of main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of ex-prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

In a recent television interview Azam denied the charges against him, while asserting that he did not commit any act befitting an apology.

"What I did, I had done for the benefit of the people, to save people," said Azam. He said he was prepared for arrest to face the trial.

Meanwhile, in a simultaneous development, the tribunal formally indicted incumbent JI chief Matiur Rahman Nizami after primarily finding valid the "element of offences" committed by him during the war after examining investigation report and other materials.

Nizami was allegedly a top leader of the notorious Al-Badr militia group, which is castigated particularly for the massacre of a number of leading intelligentsia including university professors just ahead of the victory against the Pakistani Army on December 16, 1971.

On December 11 last year, the prosecution had submitted 15 crimes against humanity charges against Nizami, who is already in jail to face the trial and was brought to the court under heavy security escorts from Dhaka Central Jail.

The tribunal was constituted in March last year along with the special investigation agency and a prosecution cell in line with the election pledges of the ruling Awami League to expose to trial the war criminals.