Tag Archives: bail

5 August 2013: ICT-2 Daily Summary – Qaisar Bail Application Granted

Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:

  1. Chief Prosecutor vs. Syed Mohammad Qaisar

Today Tribunal 2 granted bail to Mr Syed Mohammad Qaisar. This is only the second time either of the two Tribunals have granted bail to a suspect. Defendant Abdul Alim is also free on bail. All other suspects have been denied bail.

On 22 July 2013 the Tribunal had heard Qaisar’s bail application and instructed the jail authorities to submit a report on the availability of adequate health care facilities for the 73 year old war crimes suspect. Today the Tribunal announced that having reviewed the report it had reached the conclusion that the health of the detained suspect is such that he should be enlarged on bail, subject to strict adherence on his part to conditions imposed by the Tribunal. The following conditions apply to his bail:

  1. The suspect shall not communicate with any political leaders
  2. He shall refrain from making any comments to the media
  3. There shall be no form of intimidation of the potential witnesses of war crimes
  4. The suspect shall stay in his Banani residence and shall not go anywhere without prior permission of the tribunal
  5. He must cooperate with the investigation agencies
  6. A bail bond of Taka 1 Lac ( Taka 100,000) shall be submitted immediately on his behalf

The Tribunal warned that bail would be revoked if there was any violation of any of the conditions.

24 July 2013: ICT-2 Daily Summary – AKM Yusuf Charge Framing Order, Khan and Mueen Uddin PW 5, Alim PW

Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:

  1. Pre-trial Proceedings against AKM Yusuf
  2. Chief Prosecutor vs. Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Mueen Uddin
  3. Chief Prosecutor vs. Abdul Alim 

Today Tribunal began by hearing a bail application on behalf of AKM Yusuf. The Defense presented arguments both regarding the necessity of bail, and the insufficiency of the charges proposed against AKM Yusuf by the Prosecution. They argued that the suspect should be discharged as the allegations against him are malafide and inspired by political motivations. The Tribunal also heard the Prosecution’s response. They  scheduled 1 August for issuing their order regarding bail and the potential framing of charges against the suspect. They instructed the jail authorities to submit a report on the availability of their medical facilities and their ability to meet the needs of the suspect while in custody.

The Tribunal then turned to the case of Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Mueen Uddin in which the Prosecution  called Prosecution witness 5 to testify in support of Charge 6. As the trials are being conducted in absentia,  state appointed Defense counsel Shukur Khan and Tuny will be allowed to conduct the cross examination at a later date on behalf of Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Mueen Uddin respectively.

In the Alim case the Tribunal rejected an application from the Defense requesting additional time due to the illness of senior Defense counsel Ahsanul Huq Hena. A junior Defense attorney stated that Hena is physically unwell and is undergoing treatment at the United Hospital. The Tribunal was critical of the delayed application and stated that it would briefly begin the examination of the Investigation Officer and would continue  it the following day. Thus the tribunal very briefly started recording the examination of the Io, but then fixed 25 July 2013 as the date for recording his entire testimony. Continue reading →

22 July 2013: ICT-2 Daily Summary – Syed Qaisar Bail Hearing

Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:

  1. Pre-Trial Stages of AKM Yusuf case
  2. Chief Prosecutor vs. Ahsrafuzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Mueen Uddin
  3. Investigation of Syed Mohammad Qaisar

Defense counsel representing AKM Yusuf sought an adjournment of the hearing of an application for bail filed on behalf of the accused. The counsel informed the Tribunal that the senior Defense Counsel Mr Abdur Razzak was engaged in a hearing at the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The tribunal adjourned the matter until tomorrow, 23 July.

The Tribunal was also scheduled to record the testimony of Prosecution witness in the case against Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Mueen Uddin. However, due to problems with the computer system in the courtroom the Tribunal could not record the statement and the matter was adjourned for the day.

Despite the computer problems the Tribunal heard a bail application on behalf of Mr Syed Mohammad Qaisar. Defense counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafder represented the suspect while Prosecutor Rana Das Gupta opposed the application. The Defense submitted various medical reports before the tribunal detailing the suspect’s health stressing that the medical facilities currently available in jail are inadequate given Qaisar’s needs. The tribunal directed the jail authorities to submit a report on or before 30 July, regarding the health condition of the suspect and whether the available health care infrastructure in the jail would be sufficient for his treatment.

22 May 2013: ICT-2 Daily Summary – Mujahid Closing Arguments, Alim PW 21, Pre-trial issues and contempt

Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:

  1. Contempt Proceedings Against Selim Uddin
  2. Syed Md Qaisar: Bail Application
  3. Chief Prosecutor vs. Md Ashruzzaman Khan and  Moinuddin
  4. Chief Prosecutor vs. Ali Ahsan Mohammed Mujahid – Defense Closing Arguments
  5. Chief Prosecutor vs. Abdul Alim – Cross-Examination of PW 21

The Tribunal deferred the contempt proceedings against Selim Uddin until 28 May 2013 for further order. It then moved on to hear the bail application filed on behalf of Syed Md Qaisar who is currently under investigation for war crimes and related offences that may have been committed during the 1971 War of Liberation. Mr Qaisar, a former BNP leader and a subsequent policy maker of President HM Ershad’s cabinet was arrested on a warrant issued by Tribunal-2 on 15 May 2013. Upon hearing the bail application, the court took a brief recess of twenty minutes before finally rejecting the application. Mr Qaisar was then sent to jail.

The Prosecution team in the cases against Md Ashrafuzaman Khan alias Nayeb Ali and Moinuddin notified the Tribunal that they had followed its order and published a notification in two widely circulated national dailies asking the two defendants to appear before the Tribunal. The notice was published on 14 May 2013 in the Daily Janakantha and on 15 May in the Daily Star. The notification announced that failure to appear within 10 days of such publication would result in the court ordering trials-in-absentia, as was done in the case of Abul Kalam Azad. The Tribunal stated that they would hear the case next on  27 May 2013.

In the case of Mujahid the Defense began their Closing Arguments. They began with arguments regarding the evidentiary aspects of the case and stated that senior Defense counsel Abdur Razzak will be later address the relevant legal arguments.

Finally, the Defense counsel for Abdul Alim conducted the cross-examination of Prosecution witness 21. They primarily attacked the credibility of the witness and accused him of providing false testimony. The Defense further suggested that the witness provide the same testimony to the Investigation Officer during his original interview.  Continue reading →

14 May 2013: ICT-1 Daily Summary – AKM Yusuf Denial of Bail

Today due to a nation-wide hartal our researchers were unable to attend proceedings. Therefore our coverage is very brief.

Today the Tribunal heard matters in the following cases:

  1. Chief Prosecutor vs. AKM Yusuf

The Tribunal passed an order rejecting the Defens’s request for bail in consideration of the gravity of the allegations against the Defendant. The Tribunal  asked the jail authorities to ensure Yusuf’s proper medical treatment. They fixed 6 June for the next hearing in the case and asked the Prosecution to submit all its supporting documents.