War Crimes Cases: No change in prosecution

The government is yet to bring any changes in the prosecution team dealing with war crimes cases as suggested by the Supreme Court last year.

The SC came up with the suggestion after it found the team's negligence and incompetence in handling with some cases.

Contacted, Law Minister Anisul Huq last week told The Daily Star, “I am looking into it.” He did not elaborate.

Wishing not to be named, two law ministry high officials said as far as their knowledge goes, no step was taken to bring the change.

They, however, said they did not know whether the policy makers in the government have taken any decision to reshuffle the team of the International Crimes Tribunal lately.

On January 3, the law minister had told this newspaper that he would take necessary steps to comply with a SC verdict in the case against Delawar Hossain Sayedee after the apex court suggested bringing changes in the prosecution team for negligence and incompetence in handling the case.

The verdict commuted death sentence for the Jamaat leader to imprisonment until his death. Sayedee had committed crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.

In the judgement released on December 31 last year, the Appellate Division observed, “Similarly, in our view the prosecutor appears to be a novice law officer, who has no elementary knowledge in conducting a case on behalf of the prosecution and also the method of examination-in-chief of a witness. There are serious loopholes in the way the case has been conducted and he has not endeavoured to rectify those defects.”

The SC said the chief prosecutor also could not avoid the responsibility in this regard.

“If he cannot supervise the cases there is no reason for him to occupy the office,” the SC verdict said, adding, “The prosecution team should not gamble with the blood of martyrs.”

Later on February 23, during hearing an appeal of (executed) Mir Quasem Ali, the apex court again expressed dissatisfaction over prosecutors' and investigators' poor performance in dealing with the war crimes cases.

It said a huge amount of money is being spent on the prosecutors and investigators, but they did not handle and investigate the cases properly.

Chief Justice SK Sinha told the attorney general that the judges were shocked to note that the prosecutors appear before the media and make statements immediately after a session of the case proceedings at the tribunal.

The CJ asked the attorney general why action was not being taken against the incompetent prosecutors and investigators.

On August 28, during hearing on Quasem Ali's review petition, the apex court further expressed dissatisfaction, as the government did not take any measures against the prosecutors, who dealt with the case against Quasem, for their poor performance.

One of the prosecutors examined some witnesses and another prosecutor examined some others, as if it was a mockery with the trial of the case, The CJ, who led the bench of the apex court, observed.

He said the court had earlier asked the government to take steps against the prosecutors for their negligence and incompetence.

The law minister had told the media that the government would take necessary steps to that end, but no such move has been seen, the chief justice said.

On February 18, the law ministry suspended prosecutor Mohammad Ali of the ICT allegedly for breaching discipline and code of conduct, and for serious professional misconduct.

Recently, another prosecutor, Abdur Rahman Hawladar, resigned citing personal reasons.

Currently, the prosecution team has 19 members.