Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:
The Tribunal only convened for 15 minutes today. They rescheduled Kamaruzzaman’s case for 7 Feb 2013.
Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:
Comments on Court Administration
Mr Abdul Baset Majumdar, senior counsel for Suranjit Sen Gupta, opened the day’s proceedings by expressing his dissatisfaction with the security clearance procedure at the entrance of the International Crimes Tribunal. He commented that the security often becomes onerous, especially for senior counsel who should be entitled to easier access. He acknowledged the necessity of security protocol but stated the methods and mechanisms employed should be more user-friendly. The Chairman of ICT-2 agreed with Mr Baset, stating that even his car was subject to significant checks at the gates and that the matter will be looked into. In the meantime the court asked counsel for both parties to cooperate.
The court then began hearing arguments in contempt proceedings and within the case of Kamaruzzaman. Continue reading
Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:
Today the Defense Counsel for Gholam Azam sought adjournment for the day. The request was allowed and the case was adjourned for the day.
In the case against Mir Qasem Ali, which is still in the investigation stage, the Tribunal fixed March 3, 2013 for the submission of either the Formal Charge or a Progress Report of the investigation.
In the Sayedee case the Prosecution finished its reply to the Defense’s closing arguments and requested the death penalty. Thereafter, Tribunal officially closed the case, announcing that the case would be under consideration until verdict was issued. The Tribunal will give notice to both the Prosecution and Defense as to when the Judgment will be ready.
In the Chowdhury case the Tribunal rejected the Defense’s application, filed January 24, requesting contempt proceedings to be issued against the Daily Jugantor, its editor and publisher Salma Islam, and staff reporter Swapan Dash Gupta. The Tribunal also summarily rejected two review applications filed by the Defense requesting review of two orders. They reasoned that the applications for review were not filed within 7 days of the orders, dated 3 December 2012 and 14 January 2013 respectively, and were therefore barred. The Defense also filed an application requesting that Chowdhury be allowed to attend a session of Parliament. The Tribunal heard the application and fixed January 30, 2013 for passing its order.
Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:
The Tribunal heard the prosecution’s application to submit further evidence in its case under section 9(4) of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. In addition to extracts from newspapers that refer to the accused Muhammad Kamaruzzaman as a leading figure of the then operational Al-Badar high command, the prosecution also requested the admission of classified documents collected from the Bangladeshi National Security Intelligence (NSI) containing a list of collaborators who were arrested in Dhaka after the Liberation War for allegedly assisting the Pakistani Army. The prosecution claims to have obtained the list on 8 March 2012. The Defense is scheduled to make a counter submission regarding the issue tomorrow, following which the tribunal will give its decision as to the admissibility of the evidence.
The prosecution then called for PW-17 Amena Khatun, the Documentation Officer and Departmental Head of Muktijuddho Jadughor (Liberation War Museum). Continue reading
The Bangladesh Trial Observer 