By Hasan Jahid Tusher in the Daily Star, Aug 11
The government will soon appoint a group of renowned jurists to the prosecution team to move for the state in war crimes trial at the International Crimes Tribunal.
Four top policymakers of the government Tuesday made the decision to expand the prosecution team following a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday. Hasina at the meeting gave some guidelines for making decisions over some crucial issues including the trial of war criminals, meeting sources said.
Sources said after evaluating initial performance of the existing seven-member prosecution team formed under the International Crimes Tribunal Act, the premier exchanged her views with senior policymakers of her cabinet to take necessary steps to further strengthen the prosecution team.
“We have made the decision to appoint some nationally important and prominent lawyers to quicken the trial of war criminals and to boost the confidence of people about the trial,” said one of the participants of the closed-door meeting.
“Our prime target is to make it of international standard,” said the participant, adding, “It will be tough for us to face the people if we fail to implement our promise to try the war criminals.”
Sources said the government is fully aware of the preparations of the suspects and Jamaat-e-Islami’s move to bring lawyers from abroad to fight cases at the tribunal for its leaders. This prompted the government to make the decision to appoint senior lawyers of the country to the prosecution team as soon as possible. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=150297
2. 25 Jamaat, Shibir men held
At least 25 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organisation Islami Chhatra Shibir were detained from the Jamaat’s Paltan office in the capital Wednesday morning.
Officer-in-charge of Paltan Police Station Shahidul Haque said police made the arrests at 5:30am after receiving information that the leaders and activists gathered the office to take preparation for committing ‘subversive activities’.
The arrestees were brought to Paltan Police Station. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=25262
3. BDR Carnage Trial, Signalman’s mutiny role exposed
Dhaka:  Sepoy Salah Uddin of Bangladesh Rifles was steady with his job of a signalman at Pilkhana BDR headquarters until a piece of information shed light on his role in February carnage last year.
Salahuddin was in the 14-member delegation that went to the state guesthouse Jamuna to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on February 25 last year, the first day of Pilkhana mutiny that claimed 74 people including 57 army officers.
Of the 14 mutineers, only Salahuddin was absent on the charge sheet in the carnage case investigated by the CID. He was just an accused in the mutiny case.
Investigators were yet to learn that the jawan signed the register at the Jamuna as Sepoy Monir.
On August 2, BDR authorities found Sepoy Monir, the 14th member of the delegation, is none other than the signalman.
A lead from the wife of another suspected mutineer, with whom the sepoy kept a laptop he looted during the mutiny, exposed Salahuddin, said a BDR official after proceedings of BDR Special Court-6 was completed yesterday.
Salah Uddin was produced before the court along with 336 other suspected mutineers from four directorates and Rifles Sports Board.
“He went to Jamuna to negotiate with the prime minister with 13 other mutineers, but used a fake name — Sepoy Monir — on the register at the state guest house,” a BDR officer told The Daily Star.
Prosecution Lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajol said Salah Uddin will now be shown arrested in the carnage case for interrogation.
The court fixed October 24 to frame charges against the 337 for their alleged involvement in the mutiny.
“Salah Uddin was one of the key planners of the carnage. He provoked jawans in killing officers at Darbar hall and adjoining areas during the February mutiny,” said prosecutor of the case Lt Col Habibul Karim.
Habibul Karim also told the court about Aminul, a sepoy who came to Pilkhana to participate in tattoo show, an outdoor event with music, drama and dance, but turned into a mutineer.
“Although he [Aminul] had no right to keep firearms, during the mutiny he was equipped with a pistol in his hand, a rifle on his shoulder and with a binocular hanging from his neck during the mutiny.” www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=150293
4. Bangla Bhai’s wife, 2 JMB men jailed
A Dhaka court Tuesday sentenced the wife of executed Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leader Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai and two JMB men to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment each for possessing explosive substances.
The convicts are Fahima alias Farzana, Salahuddin alias Saleheen and Asaduzzaman Chowdhury alias Panir.
Judge Mohammad Rezaul Islam of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 handed down the sentence in presence of the convicts at a packed courtroom.
Earlier, the prosecution and the defence had completed their arguments and the court recorded statements of 16 prosecution witnesses.
According to the prosecution, a team of Rapid Action Battalion on December 18, 2005 raided a residence at Aqua Morolpara under Kotwali Police Station in Mymensingh district.
The elite force recovered 57 items of explosives and arrested Saleheen and Panir from the scene. Farzana was later shown arrested in the case.
The Mymensingh haul includes four grenades, 12 bombs of different sizes including a light-sensitive one, a sub-machine gun, 80 electric detonators, 20kg ammonium nitrate, gun powder, GI wire, lead azide, lead nitrate, electric circuits, batteries, fuses, snail shells and iron balls used in fishing nets.
Two cases — one under the Arms Act and the other under the Explosive Substances Act — were filed with Kotwali Police Station of Mymensingh.
JMB chief Shaek Abdur Rahman, its second-in-command Bangla Bhai and its military commander Ataur Rahman Sunny were also accused in the cases, but their names were dropped from the charge sheet as they were earlier executed for killing two judges in Jhalakathi district on November 14, 2005. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=150306