BANGLADESH Inviting More Instability

Thepresentdispensa onunderSheikh HasinaWajidandherBangladesh AwamiLeaguehasinvitedfurther troublebyvic mizingtheprominent leadersofBangladeshJamaateIslami, themostorganizedanddisciplined Islamicorganiza oninthecountry. AtpresentitsformerAmir,the92plus ProfessorGhulamAzam;thepresent AmirandformerministerinKhalida ZiasgovernmentMo urRahmanNi zami;DelwarHossainSayeedi,the mostpopularoratorofthecountry, andseveralotherprominentleadersof theJamaathavebeendraggedbefore atribunal,onc ouschargesofmur ders,rapes,execu ons,etc.,crimes whichtheynevercommi ed.Theyare beingtriedbythesocalledInterna onalCrimesTribunalwhichdoesnot haveanyforeignjudgeorpersonality evenfornamessake.TheBri shHouse ofLordshasalreadydenouncedthe shamtrial.Theevidentbiasofthepre sidingjudgealsohasbeenbroughtto light. Theinsidershaveindicatedthatthe judgesrunningtheshowarebeingpres surizedtosentencetheleaderstodeath. Itisnoteworthythatall theseleadershadneverbeenindictedby anycourtandtheirnamesneverap pearedinthelistofwantedprisonersfor crimesduringthefreedomstruggle. Whatthepresentgovernmentisdoingis purevic miza on. Seriousdoubtsbyinterna onalhuman rightsorganiza ons,independentob serversandmediapersonsarebeing raisedabouttheworkingofthetribu nal.Theresigna onofthepresiding judgeofthetribunalJus ceM.Nizamul Haque,onpersonalreasons,hasfurther raisedthedoubtabouttheneutralityof thetribunal. Itwouldbeinitsowninterestifthe AwamiLeaguedesistsfromindulgingin poli calvende a.IfProfessorGhulam Azam,NizamiandDelwarSayeediare martyred,thepeopleofBangladeshwill nottakeitlyingdown.Thebloodof thesevenerableleaderswillnotgo wasteandresultinthedownfallofthe unjustandtyrantrulers.Thewri ngon thewallofhistoryisclear;theneedis toreaditwithopenmind. RadianceViewsweekly

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ICT:Despitealltheawsandwrongdoings

January11,2013

AppealsforRetrialRejected
Bangladeshisslowlydescendingintoanarchy. Thereiscurrentlynolawandorderandpeople fromopposi ongroupsarebeingbeatenup, abductedandkilledregularly.Failuretoinves gatesuchcrimessuggeststhesecrimesarebeing commi edbythegovernmentsupportersand thesecurityforces.Insomecases,thereisover whelmingevidencethatthegovernmentsupport ersandthesecurityforcesareinvolved. Opposi onpar esaredeniedpoli calfreedom theyarenotallowedtobecri calofthegovern mentandnotallowedtoholdpartymee ngsor anylargegatherings.Ifopposi ongroupsdo decidetopar cipateinanysuchac vi es,they faceagoodchanceofbeingbeatenupbythe police,arrestedandtortured. PeopleofBangladeshhavepainfulmemoriesof theatroci escarriedoutduringthe1971warby thePakistanarmy.SomeBengaliciviliansdid assistthePakistaniarmytocarryoutsomeofthe atroci es.Manypeoplehavecalledforthose whowereinvolvedtofacejus ceandquiteright ly. ladeshandtouchesthenerveofBangladeshi people.Whattheyaredoingisplayingwith peoplesfeelings.Itsgu erpoli csoftheworse kind. Thecredibilityofthetrialisques onedbymany inBangladeshandinterna onalobservers.

TheEconomistnewspaperreportedonleakede mailandphoneconversa onlastweek,uncov eringtheinterferencefromgovernmentand thejudgewasfoundtobediscussingthecase withapersonhewasntsupposedto.ItwasMr Ziauddinhewastalkingto,agovernmentsup porterlivingabroad.Thispersonwasdra ing theguiltyverdictbeforethetrialhadevencon cluded. Despitealltheawswiththetribunalandinter na onalcri cismofthetribunal,theruling partys llrefusestohaltthetrialorallowa retrial.Alltheaccusedcomplainofinhumane treatment. TheGovernmentofBangladeshcomments frequentlyonthetrialsandevenpredictsthe outcomeofallthetrialswhileitss llongoing. O enclaimingtheywillensuretheaccusedare foundguiltyandarehanged.Itsclearthegov ernmentpaysnoa en ontointerna onal organiza ons,whentheysaythistribunallacks credibilityandfallswellbelowinterna onal standard. Itisimportantwehaveinterna onalobservers andinterna onallegalrepresenta vestobe presentatthetribunal,toensuretheaccused arenotvic msofpoli calvende a. Weaskallconsciousci zentobevocalandto raisevoiceofprotestandweaskallnewsme diatogivecoveragetothiscrisis.

Thetribunalputsunfairlimitsonthenum berofwitnessesthedefenseisallowed. Tribunalrefusestoorderinves ga oninto theabduc onofdefensewitnesses. Thedefensecounselfaceconstantharass mentandtheirocesareraidingregularly bythepolice. Tribunalisquicktosuspendmembersof thedefensecounseliftheyraiseanygriev ance. TheTribunalwillnotallowforeignlegal representa vesorinterna onalobservers.

LookingintothebackgroundoftheInterna onalWarcrimeTribunal

Itisunanimouslyaccepted thatthePakistanmilitarycar riedoutanopera onduring the1971warofindependence inBangladesh,inwhichmany terribleatroci eswerecarried out. ThePakistanarmysetup locallyrecruitedparamilitary groupstoassisttheminmain tainingPakistaniruleinthe countryandtherearecontem poraneousmediareportsevi dencingthisinfacteventhe currentBangladeshPrimeMin isterShaikhHasinahasstated thattheparamilitarygroups weresetupbythePakistan military. Thereisabsolutelynoevi dencethatanyoftheleaders ofchargedandarrestedever advocatedviolenceagainst Bangladeshina onalswheth erMuslim,Hindu,freedom ghterorotherwise.Surelyif theywerethemastermindof thewarcrimes,asisbeing claimed,therewouldbesome contemporaneousevidencein themanynewsreportsofthe me.

Bangladeshwasunderstrict censorshipbythePakistani military,thereforeJamaate Islamiwasnotabletopublish publiclystatementsopposing theactsofthemilitary. Thecons tu onofthe Interna onalCrimesTribu nal(ICT)isveryworryingand toallintentsandpurposesthe trialismerelyaprocessneces sarytoachieveforegonecon clusions.TheTribunalmem berswereappointedbythe rulingAwamiLeagueparty andcountamongitsmembers individualswhowereinvolved inearliermocktrials,inwhich GhulamAzamandotherswere convictedandegiesof themburnttosymbolisetheir execu onseeLordAves bury'scomments. Weacknowledgeandempa thisewiththelongsuering vic msoftheindependence warandunderstandtheir questforjus ce.Butjus ce willnotbeservedbycon vic ngthewrongpeople. Wewelcomesafairtrialas weknowthereisnowayany

onearrestedandbeingtried couldbeconvictedinsucha trial.

Itisimportanttonotethe poli calbackdroptothecur rentpushforconvic onsre la ngtotheindependence war,40yearslater.Allsus pectsarefromtheJamaate Islamparty(JI)orBangladesh Na onalParty(BNP),who weremembersofasuccessful coali onthatwhichwasin powerpriortothevictoryby therulingAwamiLeaguepar ty.Sincecomingintopower, AwamiLeaguehascommi ed widespreadhumanrights abuses,documentedbyHu manRightsWatchandAmnes tyInterna onal.DavidCamer onhasalsoexpressedconcern, sayingOneoftheissuesthat wedohavetoraise,though,is thattherearehumanrights issuesinBangladesh,andwe shouldnotbescaredofraising themwiththeauthori esin theproperway. TheAwamiLeaguehas crackeddownoncri cismof thepartybyjournalistsand

opposi onpoli cians.Many peopleconsiderthecurrent trialsawaytodestroythe opposi onandensurevictory atthenextelec on.Please seeHumanRightsWatch WorldReport2011. Ref: 1. h p:// www.interna onallawburea u.com/blog/?p=3073 h p:// ghulamazamdot net.les.wordpress.com/20 12/01/judgment1993 ghulamazam.pdf h p:// ghulamazamdot net.les.wordpress.com/20 12/01/ukimmigra on judgment.pdf h p:// www.theyworkforyou.com/ debate/?id=201112 14a.789.3 h p://www.hrw.org/world report2011/bangladesh

2.

3.

Itisthereforecleartheaccusedwillneverbe allowedafairtrial.Peoplehavebecomesuspi ciouswiththetribunaljudgesandsuspectcollu TheWarCrimesTribunalwassetupbytheruling sionwithgovernmentevenbeforerecentreve partyin2010.Manyweresuspiciousatthe me la ons. manyfearedtherulingpartymayusethetribunal totargetopposi onleaders.

4.

Manyitseemswererighttobesuspiciousofthe rulingparty.Itwasnttoolongbeforetheruling partystartedarres ngleadersfromthetwomain opposi onpar es.Thishasfurtherfueledthe poli calviolenceinBangladesh. TherulingAwamiLeaguepartyisverydeter minedtodestroy,weakenoreveneliminateits opponentsandwhatbe erwaytodothis,than toaccuseyouropponentsofwarcrimeswhichis somethingverysensi veforthepeopleofBang

5.

Summary of Tribunal Leaks:

Un l11December,2012theInterna onal CrimesTribunal1,DhakawascomposedofMr. Jus ceMd.NizamulHuq(Nasim)asChairman, withMr.Jus ceMd.JahangirHossainandMr. Jus ceAnwarulHoqueasMembers.TheInter na onalCrimesTribunal2,Dhakaontheother handwascomposedofMr.Jus ceA.T.M.Fazle KabirasChairman,withMr.Jus ceObaidul Hasan(Shaheen)andJudgeShahinurIslamas Members. On11,December,Mr.Jus ceMd.Nizamul Huqresignedwhenhisclandes neSkypecon versa onswithathirdpartyweredisclosed. Followingtheresigna on,theTribunalswere swi lyrecons tuted.Mr.Jus ceA.T.M.Fazle KabirwasbroughtinfromTribunal2toserve asChairmanofTribunal1.Mr.Jus ceObaidul HasanwaspromotedtothepostofChairman ofTribunal2andanewmemberwasinducted intoTribunal2. TheSkypeconversa onswhichledtoMr.Jus ceMd.NizamulHuqsresigna onshowthe levelofimproprietyandmanipula onofthe trialsbytheExecu veandeventheJudiciary itself. Someofthemainthemes: 1.Theconversa onsbetweenMr.Jus ce HuqandDr.Ziauddinclearlyshowthatthey haddiscussionsnotonlyastowhoshould deposeasProsecu onWitness,butalsoasto thecontentsandlengthofthedeposi on. 2.EmailsbetweenDr.ZiauddinandMr. Jus ceHuqshowthattheordersoftheTribu nalframingchargesagainstGhulamAzam, SalahuddinQuaderChowdhuryandDelwar HossainSaydee(i.e.,theindictmentorders) wereinfactdra edbyDr.Ziauddinand emailedtoMr.Jus ceHuqtheeveningbefore theywereannouncedinopencourtbythe erstwhileChairmanofTribunal1.Assuch,fair trialcanbeensuredonlybyorderingaretrial. 3.EmailexchangesbetweenAhmedZiaud dinandNizamulHuqclearlyshowthatthe FormalChargeinthecaseofGhulamAzam

International War Crime Tribunal

waspreparedatthebehestofAhmedZiauddin. Itisclearthereforetheorderofcognizance takenbytheTribunalonthebasisofDr.Ziaud dinsFormalChargeisillegal.Insuchcircum stances,theorderofcognizanceshouldbere calledandtheAccused,ProfessorGhulamAzam shouldbereleasedfromcustody. 4.Mr.Jus ceHuqhadregularmee ngswith theProsecutorsduringwhichdecisionswere takenregardinglingofpe onsbytheProse cutorsandpassingofordersthereonbythe Tribunal.Notonlythat,Ziauddinplayedanim portantroleinadvisingtheerstwhileChairman andtheProsecutors,o enac ngasaconduit fortheexchangeofinforma onbetweenthe TribunalandtheProsecu on.Afairtrialcan onlybeensuredbyremovingtheProsecutors whowereseekingtopervertthecourseofjus ce. 5.Theconversa onbetweenMr.Jus ceHuq andDr.Ziauddinclearlyshowextensiveexecu veinterference,inpar cularthatoftheState MinisterforLaw,withtheprocessoftheTribu nal.Furthermore,thereisevidencetoshow thattheerstwhileChairmanoftheTribunalhad beenoeredpromo ontotheAppellateDivi sion)upondisposalofasmanyasthreecases. Conclusion:MostofthejudgesoftheTribunals appearfromtheSkypeconversa onstobe appointedbecauseoftheirpoli calleanings. Thereisevidenceofextremelevelofinterfer encebyMinisters.Dr.Ziauddinalsoseemsto haveinuenceoverthejudgesinbothTribu nals.Althoughtheevidenceofinterferenceby Ministersisavailableinrespectofonejudge (duetothebenetofhackedSkypeconversa ons),itisonlyreasonablethatthesameMin isterswhoinuencedMr.Jus ceHuqwould alsoseektoinuenceotherjudgesoftheTri bunal.Allthejudgeshavebeentainted.Sothe onlycourseopenistoholdaretrialwithnew judgesinallcases.

Frompage3 theICT(v)TheChairmanwasusingveryoen sivewords/ defamatoryremarksagainsthiscolleagues [Judges],Ministersandsenior/notablelawyers ofthecountry(vi)TheChairmanwastaking adviceanddicta onfromDrAhmedZiauddinas towhatOrdertobegiven,whosecasesshould bebroughtrst,whatshouldbewri eninthe Ordersetc.(vii)TheChairmanwasdiscussing withaperson,noma erhowexperthemaybe, whohasclearlinkswiththegovernmentand prosecu onandwhohasillpoli calmo ves (viii)Prosecu onhavelink,unknowntothe defence,andunfair esandsecretaccesstothe Chairman. Thesearecrucialpointsandinforma onthatgo tothehearttothenormsandmannerofthe fairtrial.Peoplehaverighttoknow.So,the publica onoftheSkypeconversa onwasof publicinterest.Onedoesnothavetobeexpert torealisewhatdisasterwouldhavehappenedif thoseinforma onwerenotleakedandpub lished.Itisuniversallytruethatjus ceshould notonlybedone,butmustbeseentohave done.ThewholeICTanditstrialprocesshas beenvi ated.Icannotfairlyandlogicallysee howjus cecanbedone[letaloneseentohave done]withouthavingafullretrialwithcom pletelynewJudgesandprosecu on. Finally,therecentSkypescandalhasmadeir reparabledamagestotheapexcourtofBangla desh.Thepublicarelosingcondenceonthe upperjudiciary.Jus ceNasimhasbroughtdis respectanddisreputeonthehigherjudiciary. Unlessthewholema erisdealtwithgreat wisdom,duecareandlookingatgreaterna on alinterestasopposedtonarrowparty/alliance poli calbenets,thepublicwilllosecondence ontheupperjudiciary,thedireconsequenceof whichwillbechaosandanarchywithinthe country.We,asconsciousci zens,mustdo everythingpossibletoprotectthecountyfrom goingonthatdirec on.
*NazirAhmedFRSAFCMIFRSPHFCIArb,LLBHons (London),LLM(London),BarristeratLaw(Lincolns Inn) **Theimportantpartofthepaperpresentedon20 December2012asaKeynoteSpeakerataRound

Skypescandaland itsimpactontheApexJudiciary
ByBarristerNazirAhmed
ThemostrecentSkypescandalof Jus ceNizamulHaqueNasim,the ChairmanoftheInterna onal CrimeTribunal(ICT),hasshaken theen rehigherjudiciaryofBang ladesh. HeclearlyviolatedtheCons tu on. Inaddi on,Jus ceNasimclearly violatedhiscons tu onaloath. Par cularly,heviolatedSec on1 (AJudgeshouldupholdtheintegri tyandindependenceofthejudici ary),Sec on2(AJudgeshould avoidimproprietyandtheappear anceofimproprietyinallac vi es) andSec on3(AJudgeshouldper formthedu esoftheoceimpar allyanddiligently)oftheCodeof Conduct. Nowtheques onis:ifanordinary employeehascommi edmiscon duct,asternac onistakenorheis sacked,shouldaSupremeCourt Judgebele alonehavingcom mi edsuchgrossprofessionalmis conduct? Apartfromthis,Jus ceNasimhas deliberatelypervertedthecourse ofjus ceand,tothatextent,there bycommi edaseriouscriminal oce.Thema ershouldimmedi atelybereferredtotheSupreme JudicialCounciltoinves gatethe wholema erandatthesame me heshouldbearrestedforthecrimi naloence/inten onhehadcom mi ed/shown.Ifthelawissaidto beequaltoall,heshouldbearrest edandtakenintoremand,asusual lytakeninordinarycases.Withhim StateMinisterofLawshouldalso bearrestedandtakenintoremand forinterferingwiththecourse/ processoffairtrial/jus cewith poli calillmo ves. ThewayMrChairmanspoke,the languageheusedintheconversa on,theinforma onhesharedand thedicta onhetookfromoutsid ers/poli callymo vatedpersons arebeyondalllegalandmoral boundaries.Hehasshownthathe isincompetent,par al,andhaving maladeinten on.Heuseddefam atorywordsagainsthiscolleagues, DrKamal,BarristerAmirulIslam, WaliurRahman,AdvocateKamrul Islam.Theauthen cityofthecon tentsofthereportoftheEcono mistandDailyAmarDesharebe yondanyques on,ashisverbal soundofspeakingisheardatface bookandYouTubetoverifythe truth.Weallwantthejus cefor warcrimes,butthathastobefair, transparentandatinterna onal standardsothattherealcriminals cangetpunishmentandtheinno centscanbeclearedfortherestof theirlifefrompainfuls gma. AlthoughJus ceNizamulHaque NasimhasresignedfromtheICT, hes llremainsaJudgeintheSu premeCourtofBangladesh.Law Ministerhasconrmed.Itisdis graceful.Anyfuturejudgmentde livered/givenbyhimwillbeques onableanddoub ulforgood. Shouldapersoninhischaracterbe inthehigherjudiciary?Hishonesty isatstake,hisintegrityisques oned,andhe[asaJudgeofthe SupremeCourt]broughtdisrespect anddisreputeonthe apexjudiciaryofBangladesh.He liedeveninthelastOrderpassed againsttheEconomistasanICT Chairmanandmisledthena on. Unlessthetruthwasunveiled/ unearthedhewascertainlygoing aheadof[judicial]murderingof nearlyadozenpeoplewithout followingproperjudicialprocess. Thisistantamounttoa emptto murders.Therefore,heshouldnot onlybesackedfromthehigher judiciaryimmediatelythroughSu premeJudicialCouncilbutalso criminalchargesbebroughtagainst himnoworlater.Personsofcor ruptedPublicProsecutors(PPs) stature/calibreatlowercourt,par tycadres,lower/thirdclassmorali tyholdersaremadeJudgesofthe apexcourtandStateMinisters. Wherethecountryisgoingto? Theinterna onalcommunitymust notputablindeyeintothisseri ousma er. Asthegovernment,somemem bersofthecivilsociety,somecon s tu onalpostholders,HighCourt JudgesandaJudgeoftheAppellate Divisionappeartobeinvolvedin wholeconspiracyandscandal,any internalordomes cinves ga onis unlikelytounveilthetruth. Therefore,theUNshouldperhaps comeforwardtoleadaproper inquiry/inves ga ontounearth thewholetruththatwouldbe acceptabletoall,domes callyas wellasinterna onally. MajoritymediainBangladesh seempronetosupercialorone sideddiscussion.Theydonot wanttogototherootoftheprob lems.Manyonesidedintellectuals appeartobeinterestedonwhy andhowSkypeconversa onwas disclosed.Theydonotbotherto discussonthecontentsofthe discussionoftheChairman[Chief Judge]oftheICTwithDrAhmed Ziauddinwherelivesofnearlya dozenpeopleareatstakeand wherewholejudicialprocessof theICTwasmadeajokeand laughable. TheleakedSkypeconversa on revealed,amongothers,(i)The government(theexecu ve)was pressuringforjudgementbyDe cember(ii)AnAppellateDivision Judge,whoiswai ngtobethe rstChiefJus cefromminority ethnicorigininBangladesh,was pu ngundueinuenceonthe ChairmanoftheICTtogivethree judgements[ofhanging]byDe cemberbytellinghimthathe wouldthenbetakentotheAppel lateDivision[thisistantamountto unduepressureandbribe](iii) Onecangetclearimpressionthat thesecondandthirdJudgeare yesman,theywillsayyesto whatevertheChairmanwouldsay andtheyweretakentotheICT basedonthatunderstanding(iv) Ge ngdicta on,ChargeSheets, Ordersandjudgementfromout sideindividualsunconnectedto Contd...Page2

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