War Crimes Trial
ICT to replace 'documents' with 'manuscripts' in rules
The International Crimes Tribunal will amend Section 54 of its rules of procedure, replacing the word 'documents' with 'manuscripts' in respect of accepting some forms of printed materials relating to the trial of crimes against humanity committed during 1971.
The tribunal announced its decision yesterday following Thursday's proceedings, which saw a debate break out on how the tribunal would accept newspaper reports as evidence.
During yesterday's proceedings, the tribunal said it had closely examined the rules of procedure of the International Crimes Tribunal Act, and had decided that changing the word 'documents' in Section 54 of the Rules of Procedure to 'manuscripts' would be a solution to the problem.
Neither prosecution nor defence will be benefited or be a loser if the word 'documents' is replaced with the word 'manuscript' as books and newspaper reports will be used as evidence as usual, said Prosecutor Syed Haider Ali.
He said the prosecution might have to have the authenticity of the manuscript proved by the person who was the author of the manuscript or who knows the handwriting or signature of the author, as per Section 54 of the Rules of Procedure.
Tajul Islam, a defence counsel, however said both the defence and prosecution would be benefited if the word 'documents' was replaced by the term 'manuscript'.
Earlier, the tribunal began the day's proceedings by deferring till February 19 the hearing on a framing of charges against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah for his alleged crimes against humanity.
The three-member tribunal headed passed the order after hearing a time petition submitted by the counsels of Quader Mollah, who is charged with seven specific crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War.
Tajul Islam told the court that the defence were not prepared to place arguments yesterday, as they could not discuss the issue with their client.
They even got copies of relevant papers and documents late, he said.
The prosecution on December 18 last year submitted formal charges against Quader Mollah before the tribunal, which took the charges into cognisance on December 28 and fixed January 29 (yesterday) for hearing on the framing charges.
After passing the order, the tribunal began recording the deposition of prosecution witnesses in a case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee regarding charges of crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War.
Seventeenth prosecution witness Rabiul Anam Khan, 44, cataloguer at the Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB), confirmed before the court that the investigation officer of the tribunal had seized several newspapers from the PIB in his presence.
After his deposition, defense counsel Mizanul Islam cross-examined the witness.
Following the cross-examination, the tribunal recorded the names of SM Amirul Islam, a book sorter at the PIB and colleague of Rabiul, Fatema Begum, a guide and computer operator at the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Museum, and Mohammad Nesar, guide of the museum, as eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth prosecution witnesses.
The prosecution produced them before the court as witnesses, but the defence counsels declined to cross-examine them as they did not make any statement.
The tribunal is scheduled to record the deposition of the twenty-first prosecution witness today.
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