Former Jamaat-e-Islami amir Ghulam Azam is taken to the International Crimes Tribunal on a wheelchair on Wednesday. — Indrajit Ghosh Staff Correspondent
Former Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami amir Ghulam Azam was admitted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University hospital about three hours and a half after he had landed in the Dhaka central jail on Wednesday on charge of crimes against humanity and other offences committed during the 1971 war of independence.
The 89-year-old top war crimes suspect was taken into a prison cell in the hospital about 3:45pm after he was sent to jail about 12:15pm amid heightened security in a prison van.
Ghulam Azam, who was Jamaat’s chief in 1971, was taken to jail on the order of the International Crimes Tribunal that had rejected a prayer for his bail.
The tribunal, also known as the war crimes tribunal instituted for the trial of the 1971 war crimes, posted for February 15 the hearing in the framing of charges against Ghulam Azam.
The tribunal of Justice Nizamul Huq, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir and judge AKM Zahir Ahmed asked the prosecution to submit the copy of the formal charges against Ghulam Azam, statements of witnesses and other documents, which the prosecution wants to rely on, by today.
It also asked the defence counsel to receive the documents from its registrar by January 14.
Ghulam Azam, who came to the tribunal about 9:45am in the green-coloured sport utility vehicle of his chief defence counsel Abdur Razzaq along with Razzaq and Azam’s eldest son former brigadier general Abdullah Aman Azmi. He was then taken into the courtroom on the first floor of the building in a wheelchair. He was in the dock during the proceedings.
Moving the application for bail, filed on behalf of Ghulam Azam on Tuesday, Razzaq said that Ghulam Azam was a former chief of a leading political party of the country, former general secretary of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union and he submitted a memorandum to the then president seeking Bangla to be made the state language of the erstwhile Pakistan.
Saying that Ghulam Azam has not been active in politics since 1995, the defence counsel argued that he should be granted bail as he was above 89 and suffering from different ailments including hypertension, diabetes, spondylitis, arthritis and other old-age complications and needed regular medication and physiotherapy.
In support of the health grounds, Razzaq argued that a medical board on November 5, 2011 examined the health of Azam and advised him absolute bed rest. Azam cannot move freely, he added.
The tribunal told him that there was no statement in the application that Azam was incapable of moving without help of others.
Mentioning that the tribunal on March 31, 2011 granted bail to former BNP minister Abdul Alim on health grounds on certain conditions, the defence counsel argued that Ghulam Azam also should be granted bail on similar grounds and on similar conditions.
He also argued that there was no scope for Ghulam Azam to influence the investigation if he was granted bail as the formal charges against him had already been placed and the tribunal had already taken cognisance of the charges on January 9.
Opposing the application, the chief prosecutor, Golam Arif Tipu, argued that Azam should not be granted bail in the current stage of the case as the tribunal took cognisance of charges including crimes against humanity and he was the main person responsible for the 1971 atrocities.
He argued that Alim’s case was not similar to that of Azam.
Alim was granted bail while the investigation against him was going on but the tribunal had already taken cognisance of the charges against Azam and his case was now in the trial stage, the prosecutor said.
He also argued that Alim was granted bail on the ground of his incapability to move without wheelchair and help of others but the condition of Azam was not similar to Alim’s.
Citing a decision of a German court, in which Ukrainian-born former Ohio resident John Demjanjuk was sentenced to five years in prison on May 12, 2011 for his role in the killing of 28,060 Jews at a Nazi death camp during World War II, Tipu said that 91-year-old Demjanjuk attended the 18-month court proceedings in Munich in a wheelchair and sometimes lying down, but was not granted bail.
He also mentioned that former Egypt president Hosni Mubarak was being tried on charges similar to those against Azam being denied of bail.
Rejecting the application, the tribunal also cited those decisions and observed that the position of Azam’s case, in which trial process had already begun, was not similar to that of Alim.
There is no case placed by the defence that Azam was unable to move without help of others, as mentioned in Alim’s case, the tribunal said in the order.
The case involves the war of independence, in which 30 lakh people were killed, four lakh women were violated and about one crore people had to take refuge to save their lives, the tribunal observed.
The whole nation has for long been waiting for a fair trial, the tribunal said.
Later, Razzaq told reporters that the order was ‘incorrect’ and they would decide whether to seek review of the order after consulting his client.
Security was beefed up on and outside the tribunal premises.
Various groups gathered outside the tribunal premises with placards and festoons demanding trial of Azam.
Azam appeared in the tribunal in compliance with its order issued on Monday asking Razzaq to produce Azam before it on Wednesday.
The tribunal had passed the order after taking cognisance of the charges pressed against Ghulam Azam by the prosecution on January 5.
Almost all of the political parties and different quarters welcomed the decision of the tribunal while activists of Jammat and Islami Chhatra Shibir tried to bring out processions against the order ib places which were foiled by law enforcers.
Source: newagebd.com/newspaper1
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