Case Against Sayedee
IO cross-examined about March 7 speech CD
A video clip of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's March 7 speech from 1971 kept the International Crimes Tribunal-1 occupied for a better part of its proceedings yesterday.
The clip, which was presented as evidence against Delawar Hossain Sayedee, became a topic of interest, as the Jamaat leader's defence pointed out that the speech in the video did not correspond to its transcription in the constitution.
Investigation officer Mohammad Helal Uddin, who is also the 28th and last prosecution witness, presented a CD of the Bangabandhu speech before the tribunal on April 12, while explaining the context of the Liberation War.
During cross-examining of the witness yesterday, the defence said the CD of the Bangabandhu speech presented by the prosecution was missing several lines from the transcription in the constitution.
Mizanul Islam, a defence counsel of Sayedee, went through the parts the CD did not contain.
The three-member tribunal of Justice Md Nizamul Huq, Justice Md Anwarul Haque and AKM Zaheer Ahmed recorded the discrepancies between the two versions.
Mohammad Helal Uddin, the witness and the investigation officer, said he took the video clip from Bangladesh Film Archive, and he did not compare the speech in the clip with the one in the constitution.
The prosecution protested at the defence's line of questioning saying that the defence could not “scrutinise” an exhibit while cross-examining a witness.
The evidence does not have anything to do with the accused, Delawar Hossain Sayedee, who is facing 20 specific charges of crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War of 1971, it added.
Sayedee's defence then moved on to a video clip of a NBC news report from 1972, which was also presented as evidence against the Jamaat leader.
The news footage, which contained a clipping of Bangalees being shot to death at Dhaka University during the war, was followed by some videos on Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami and the war atrocities.
Defence counsel Mizanul Islam asked the investigation officer whether he knew the full meaning of NBC, the country it was based in and location of its office.
Helal Uddin said he did not know the answers to any of those questions.
He admitted that some video clips on Nizami were added to the NBC news report and said he did not know who edited the video file or when it was edited.
The line of questioning prompted another round of verbal spats between the prosecution and the defence counsels.
Tribunal chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq had to intervene in keeping the situation under control.
“Can we please request the two senior counsels from both sides to control their anger and themselves”, said the chairman.
The defence later questioned the witness about a sign and some comments that appeared in the video segment added to the NBC report before the tribunal adjourned the cross-examination until today.
Delawar Hossain Sayedee was produced before the court yesterday. He is among three Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and a BNP leader who are facing charges of crimes against humanity at the tribunal-1.
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