Int'l crimes tribunal unhappy over govt's failure to execute penalty for Jamaat men

International Crimes Tribunal-2 yesterday expressed discontent over the failure of the government, especially police, in executing its sentence punishing two top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders two years ago for contempt of court.

Right before the start of a trial's hearing, Prosecutor Tureen Afroz submitted a New Age report of Sunday headlined "Jamaat leaders Azad, Rafiq issuing statements while on the run".

The report quoted a police officer as saying that they were trying to arrest them.

Tureen sought action, saying that the duo's conduct was tantamount to "continuous contempt of court".

Justice Obaidul Hassan, the three-member tribunal's chairman, said, "We have passed our order. Now it is the responsibility of police to arrest them. What are they doing?"

"But we have nothing to do as the matter is not pending before us. You can go to the right forum for the inaction," he said.

"Right forum" might have meant filing a writ petition with the High Court, opined a legal expert.

In 2013, the tribunal initiated the contempt proceedings against three Jamaat leaders -- Rafiqul Islam Khan, the then acting secretary general; Hamidur Rahman Azad, a then lawmaker, and Selim Uddin, the then Dhaka city unit assistant secretary general.

It was for their comments and statement on February 4, 2013, a day before another Jamaat leader, Abdul Quader Mollah, was sentenced to life imprisonment. The three had threatened to start a "civil war" if the verdict went against Quader.

On February 7, 2013, the tribunal asked the three to explain their words. But they did not appear, prompting the tribunal to issue arrest warrants.

Police arrested Selim but failed to arrest the duo, claiming they were fugitives although Azad joined parliament sessions and public meetings.

The tribunal on June 9, 2013 found the three guilty. It leniently let off Selim as he sought unconditional apology, keeping him standing till the court rose that day. It jailed the duo for three months and fined them Tk 3,000.

As per Jamaat sources, the duo still live in Dhaka. Their statements have regularly appeared in newspapers, especially Jamaat's mouthpiece, the daily Sangram.