Category Archives: Trial of Delwar Hossain Sayedee

28 Feb 2013: Sayedee Convicted of 8 out of 20 Charges, Sentenced to Death

Sayedee Verdict
Today Tribunal 1 issued the third verdict of the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal. The verdict was issued against Delwar Hossain Sayedee who was tried for 20 Charges [See here for the Charge Framing Order]. Sayedee was found guilty on 8 Charges, specifically Charges 6,7,8,10,11,14,16 and 19. He was acquitted of Charges 1,2,3,4,5,9,12,13,15,17 and 18. Charge 20 was dropped previously by the Prosecution.

The Tribunal sentenced Sayedee to death based on his conviction on Charges 8 and 10. Under Charge 8 he was found guilty of directly participating in abduction, murder and persecution as Crimes against Humanity in conjunction with the 8 May 1971 attack on houses of Chitholia, arson attack on the Hindu community at Parerhat Bandar, and instigation of the torture and murder of a civilian, Ibrahim. Under Charge 10 Sayedee was found guilty of direct participation in persecution and murder as Crimes against humanity in conjunction with the 2 June 1971 arson attack on the Hindu Para of Umedpur and ordering the killing of an individual, Bisabali.

We have not yet obtained copies of the summary or full judgment, but will make them available as soon as we receive them.

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27 Feb 2013: Gholam Azam Closing Arguments, Sayedee Verdict for the 28th

This is a brief summary of today’s proceedings. A more detailed post will follow.

Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:

  1. Chief Prosecutor vs. Gholam Azam
  2. Chief Prosecutor vs. Delwar Hossain Sayedee

The Tribunal heard the Prosecution’s Closing Arguments for the  8th consecutive day. The Prosecution submitted his arguments in support of Charge 5, torture and murder of Sub Inspector of Police Siru Miah as a Crime against Humanity.  This concluded the Prosecution’s arguments based onthe  charges. Thereafter Prosecutor Zead-al-Malum sought adjournment and Tribunal adjourned the proceedings of Ghulam Azam until March 3, 2013.

Today the Sayedee case appearedas Item 2 on the cause list. After hearing the Closing Arguments in the Gholam Azam case the Chairman of Tribunal 1, ATM Fazle Kabir, stated that on January 29, 2013 the Tribunal had completed hearing Closing arguments in the Sayedee case and the case had been under consideration awaiting verdict since then. He announced that the Final Judgment has been prepared and Tribunal will deliver its verdict tomorrow, February 28, 2013.

This will be the third  judgment issued by the International Crimes Tribunal, the first to be issued by Tribunal 1. It follows the verdicts in the Kalam Azad and Qader Molla cases.

It should be noted that after the announcement of the impending verdict, Jamaat-e-Islami has called a hartal (strike) for tomorrow in protest of what they expect to be an unfair verdict against Sayedee, a party leader. In light of the energy behind the ongoing Shabagh movement (which was sparked by the sentence given in the Qader Molla case and is unified around calling for the death penalty against alleged war criminals) and opposition to the trials by Jamaat-e-Islami, there is potential for significant demonstrations and violence tomorrow.

Weekly Digest Issue No. 2 January 27-31

This week’s proceedings were dominated by the completion of Closing Arguments in the Sayedee case, heard by Tribunal 1. The Defense presented legal arguments regarding delay in prosecution, malafide intent, the elements of the crimes, and the value of out-of-court statements admitted into evidence under Section 19(2) of the ICT Act. The Prosecution submitted its reply and requested the death penalty against the Accused. The case is now under review and awaiting the Tribunal’s judgment.

Tribunal 2 had a light week, primarily dealing with administrative and evidentiary applications. They additionally heard arguments in pending contempt proceedings.

Read the full report here: Weekly Digest Issue No. 2 – Jan 27-31 

Weekly Digest, Issue No. 1 – January 20-24, 2013

This is the first issue of the Weekly Digest, a summary of proceedings at the International Crimes Tribunal that will be published on a weekly basis. These reports are designed to provide an overview of events in a digestible manner, suitable to those who want to stay abreast of the proceedings but do not have the time to follow the Daily Summaries.

This week the Tribunal issued its first verdict, the judgment in the Case of Chief Prosecutor vs. Abul Kalam Azad, alias Bachu. The Defendant was tried in absentia by Tribunal 2, and found guilty of six counts of crimes against humanity and one count of genocide. He was sentenced to death by hanging. Tribunal 1 primarily heard the Defense’s closing arguments in Chief Prosecutor vs. Delwar Hossain Sayedee. The Tribunal additionally addressed applications for the removal of Prosecutor Zead al-Malum among other matters.

Read the full report:

Weekly Digest, Issue 1 – Jan 20-24

Contents of Weekly Digest Issue No. 1
Cases Covered:
Tribunal 1: Sayedee, Nizami, Golam Azam, Chowdhury
Tribunal 2: Kalam Azad, Mujahid, Kamaruzzaman, Qader Molla, Abdul Alim

Applications and Orders:
Tribunal 1: Application for Removal of Prosecutor Zead al-Malum; Application for Contempt Proceedings against Ahmed Ziauddin; Application for Review of Order Denying Retrial; Application for Extension of Bail;

Tribunal 2: Final Judgment; Contempt Proceedings against MK Anwar and Sranjit Sen Gupta; Witness Testimony

Read the full report here:

Weekly Digest, Issue 1 – Jan 20-24

29 Jan 2013: ICT-1 – Sayedee Prosecution’s Final Reply

Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:

  1. Chief Prosecutor vs. Professor Gholam Azam: Defense request for adjournment (Accused not Present)
  2. Chief Prosecutor vs. Mir Qasem Ali: Announcement of date for submission of formal charges or progress report
  3. Chief Prosecutor vs. Delwar Hossain Sayedee: Prosecution’s Reply to Defense Closing Arguments (Accused Present)
  4. Chief Prosecutor vs. Salauddin Qader Chowdhury: Rejection of review applications and hearing of application to allow Chowdhury to attend Parliament

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.

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