Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:

1. Chief Prosecutor vs. Abdul Alim
2. Chief Prosecutor vs. Ashrafuzzaman Khan & Chowdhury Mueen Uddin

It was the second day of a 48-hour countrywide shut down called by Jamaat-e-Islam. Due to the Hartal, our monitors could not safely travel to the Court to attend proceedings.  The following coverage was compiled from official court records and communication with the parties to the proceedings.

On this day, Mr. Ahsanul Haq Hena, the defense counsel for the accused Abdul Alim concluded his closing submissions before Tribunal 2 of the ICT. This was the fifth day of the Defense submission.  Counsel addressed evidentiary aspects of the remaining charges faced by the Accused. He also made submissions pertaining to the defense claim of alibi. Counsel concluded by declaring that none of the charges had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt by the Prosecution.

Following the conclusion of Defense submissions, the Court announced that Dr. Tureen Afroz would be given limited time on Sunday, 22 September 2013 to briefly address or rebut Defense submissions. The trial can therefore be expected to conclude on Sunday, 22 September 2013, pending final Judgment.

In the case against Ashrafuzzaman Khan & Chowdhury Mueen Uddinm, the Tribunal finished recording the cross-examination of PW-25, Mr. Ataur Rahman, one of the two investigation officers assigned to the case against Mueen and Ashraf. PW-25 was specifically assigned to investigate the involvement of Chowdhury Mueen Uddin. This marked the end of witness testimony, as the IO was the 25th and last prosecution witness of the case. The prosecution is scheduled to begin closing arguments on 23 September 2013.