Bangladesh charges first suspect over 1971 war
Delawar Hossain Sayedee, a leader of Bangladesh's largest Islamic party, will be tried at the tribunal set up last year to investigate those accused of crimes committed during the nine-month war against Pakistan.
"Sayedee has been charged with 20 counts including crimes against humanity, murder, genocide, rape, arson, looting and forcibly converting Hindus to Islam," public prosecutor Abdur Rahman Howlader told AFP.
Judge Nizamul Huq read out the charges to Sayedee, 71, in a crowded Dhaka courtroom. If found guilty, Sayedee could face death by hanging.
The current government says up to three million people were killed in the war, many murdered by Bangladeshis collaborating with Pakistani forces.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, established the court after she returned to power in 2009, but it has been widely criticised for targeting her political opponents.
The court is called the International Crimes Tribunal, but it is a domestic set-up with no United Nations oversight or involvement.
"Every word, every sentence and every line of the 4,500-page allegations against me are lies," Sayedee told the court after being charged. "I was not a collaborator. I did not commit any crimes."
Sayedee is alleged to have been the regional chief of a militia that was created during the war to collaborate with the Pakistani army.
Sayedee has been held in detention along with four other suspects from the Jamaat-e-Islami party and two from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Both parties have dismissed the tribunal as a government "show trial", while the New York-based group Human Rights Watch has said legal rules being used fall short of international standards.
The 1971 war began after tens of thousands of people were killed in the capital Dhaka when Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight, a campaign intended to deter Bangladeshis from seeking independence.
The violence and subsequent military action that allegedly included mass killings, rape and torture created a groundswell of public support for the pro-independence movement.
"Hundreds of thousands of people were killed during our war of independence, and finally we'll see justice," one of the prosecuting lawyers, Syed Haider Ali, said. "It's a memorable day for the country."
Defence lawyers previously withdrew from proceedings to protest against what they said would be an unfair trial, and it remained unclear who would represent Sayedee in court.
"It's politically motivated case. It aims at tarnishing the image of my client," said Sayedee's lawyer Tajul Islam.
The court will reconvene on October 30.
COMMENTS (48)
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@Bangladeshi: I am not discussing his stature. I say if he is guilty and convicted he should be be punished. If he is great and has not been part of the militia created by Pak army to persecute Bengalis then he can go free. If there is an allegation then being such a religious person he should come forward himself rather than being forced in by government. What happened in east Pakistan was no less heinous than what is happening in darfur
@Was A Pakistani: you have no idea what you are talking about. I guess no body here knows that saydee is a renowned scholar & people in bangladesh respects him. The majority is against this political trail held by Indain stooge AL to satisfy their indian masters. The US,UK & UN have already said that they won't recognise this trail since it doesn't meet the standards required by International law. Delwar H Saydee have been elected 3 times as MP & all the charges against him defies logical grounds. If you are a muslim you should never frame someone falsely without verifying facts otherwise you will have commited a henious sin.
@Rashid: Everyone has a right to aspire for living in the land they want. With us it is the same as separating from India. so for east pakistanis now bangladeshi they did the same in 1971 as we did in 1947. If the killing of muslims on train to Pakistan was a crime then killing of bangladeshis by JI workers was a crime. If they were detained and convicted they deserved it. No one has a right to kill anyone just because they dont believe in your ideology and if you did then you should be held responsible.
@Rashid
You are incohorent, means you don't know what you're talking about. More of emotions,less of logic.You urgently need medical (psychiatric) help.
@ Was a Pakistani
Judicial and Media trial of JI bengal is continue since decades in Bangladesh, Did it prove worthy ??
Prof.Ghulam Azam and another head of JI,Mr.Matiullah Nizami alongwith hundreds of JI workers had faced hardships, Jail detention and court trial for the sake of supporting Pakistan, none was proved against them and they came out as triumphant. So please go ahead and trial several more. Today if You are loyal to your country should that mean you are a traitor of a future new country and land? what would you opt, loyal to current homeland or to a future broken Pakistan ?
@Rashid: Jamaat-i-islami stood wrong in every way and if they are condoning the genocide then they should be condemned even more. Pro- India sure she was... Did you ever give them the reason no to be?
This is not the first time that Haseena Wajid's pro India party has attacked the JI leadership in revenge of supporting Pakistani federation and Pak Army in 1971.
Professor Ghulam Azam, the Ameer of JI bengal at the time of partition opposed the liberation simply because it was heavily supported and funded by India whereas he himself and his Jamaat knew and believed that it won't bear any fruit and benefits for Bengalis or Bengladesh. After liberation, Awami leagues govt. started to uproot islamic ideology, Jamaat Islami and Democracy from bangladesh. Thousands of JI workers were subjected to torture and killings. The Citizenship of Prof.Ghulam Azam was cancelled untill 1994 when Supreme court restored it. I salute JI leadership for such a tremendous and relentless ideological struggle that is going on since decades and InshaAllah will end Succesfully and with peaceful victory of Islamic forces in Bangladesh
I hope that the people of Bangladesh are able to put away in jail those that committed crimes against humanity in 1970 and 1971. The Awami Party should be careful to make this more than just a political drama though in order to ensure the sanctity of the trials.
FAZ, I WAS a witness!! I wrote to Brig. Mehboob Qadir challenging his rosy accounts of Gen. Hayat, who was entrusted with the Khulna sector & under whom Qadir served, as well as Ansari, in charge of the Jessore-Jhinaidah sector. I cannot give the name of individual formations of the Pakistan Army but they are a matter of public record. I can give the names of the chief officers in command, but not the minor officers who actually carried out the atrocities. Anyway, according to the Nuremberg trials, only the highest officers were held culpable on the charges of "waging aggressive war".
I have studied the Nuremberg case histories thoroughly. There is the independent witness of Catholic priests like Rev.Fr.Timms, who had no cause to be pro-Indian, and who had spent his entire life serving the public of Bangladesh from the 1950s regardless of race, religion or politics, There are some genuinely good people on this earth and he just happened to be one of them. He is still alive in Dhaka but very old. His testimony and that of other Catholic priests who were neutral and removed from partisan passions remain very valuable to this day. Their only concern at the time seemed to be "taking care of their flock" and suddenly, their "flock" grew to unmanageable sizes as frightened people of all types fled to take refuge with them, They then began recording what difficulties they faced, to send to their superiors and seek their help. These form part of our record.
I am not going to enter into any arguments. I was there. I have seen what went on before the war, the flood tide of refugees moving across the Itindaghat------->Petrapole border, a minimum of 5 million, and the horrific toll from disease and privation. I have seen the war of Jessore-Khulna. Talking and arguing will never change minds. I know the history of Bangladesh intmately from 1961, the various movements that culminated in 1971. Pakistanis can live in denial, and they indeed have created a cocoon of viewpoints that allow them to exist in a reality at a great remove from that accepted by the rest of the world. Whether this is a useful device, only time can tell. Most delight in this miasma of willful self-deception, so there can be no interpersonal comparison of utility, and no comment.
@Yuri Kondratyuk:
If you have regard for human life, Loss of innocent lives (Both pro Bangladesh and Pro Pakistan by respective opponents) was very tragic.
@Pundit: its Pakistani Army nor Paki army. Did you go to school?
@Brasstacks: Those so called Pakistanis living in Bangladesh are Biharis who are integrated into Bangladesh. Let them live their lives in Bangladesh. They have never seen Pakistan and have little in common with people in Pakistan anyway. By the way, Bihar is closer to Bangladesh that Pakistan. We should stop all this talk about bringing in other nationals and focus on helping our own people first.
@Sharjeel Jawaid: So you do agree Pak Army killed Bengalis? If so then how do you justify? Mukti Bhani was made way after the atrocities started and way after Bengalis were officially denied the right of equal citizen. Mukti Bhai was a reactionary force to the injustice committed. Same is now happening in all parts of Pakistan
@kdk: You really need to read the history. Was 1956 constitution also RAW conspiracy? Was denial of right to rule was also one? Was the slogan we want the land not the people also RAW? It was your security forces. They are not doodh kai dhulay they have blood of millions on their hand.
@Kafka: Fall of Dhaka was the best thing that happened to Bengalis. They have their destiny in their own hand and slowly progressing well. While we who boasted alot in front of them are in a perpetual push to abyss.
@Bader: Doesnt mean atrocities didnt occur.
@Cynical: Because they are the real culprit. The person being tried was an agent of mayhem.
@Sharjeel Jawaid: I dont believe you that you were in BD in 1971 or you are not speaking the truth and hiding details of many massacres of Bengalis which took place there. Incidentally I was in BD during 71 and came back in Jan72. What I saw there is beyond one's comprehension and an unforgetable experience of my life. It is unimaginable that Bengalis were butchered by those who were their own countrymen and fellow Muslims. But I have no doubt in my mind that those who committed these henious crimes are moving scot free in Pakistan due to large-heartedness of the Indian and BD govts.
In an ideal World both Bangladesh and Pakistan would join forces and put these terrible people on trial - denial of this massacre in this day and age is itself criminal.
@R S JOHAR: Where you there to witness that Mr. Johar? My family members were. My grandmother describes an incident where two mukti bahni terrorists were having a heated debate over killing a 3 year old bihari boy! At last they murdered him saying "Snake's offspring would inevitably be a snake!!"
New York-based group Human Rights Watch has said legal rules being used fall short of international standards. This is done to make their masters (India) happy.
As we can see from the comments here, the propaganda our Pakistani schoolbooks propagate is appalling. Even now, people are willing to believe that the '71 war was an Indian conspiracy. Plain and simple, the '71 war erupted because of Pakistan's corrupt politicians who were sidelining Bangladesh.
I'm glad to hear this news.
@kdk: u r so away from reality v pakistanis committed atrocitites, we broke Pakistan. We didnt let Mujib make a government. please educate yourself on history. as ignorance and non acceptance by many like you may lead to many more debacles.
Dear Johar Saheb,
I would say even a figure of one is quite high!
It is disturbing for me to listen to the one sided propaganda against the Pak Army and its affiliates. It seems that they had nothing to do from March 26, 1971 onwrads but kill Bengalees.
Since I was there; let me point out that a large number of ethnic Bengalees, Urdu Speaking Pakistanis, persons from West Pakistan and a cross section of Pak Army personnel were killed by the Muktis from March 01, 1971 to well later than few years after libertion. Our media is too humble in recalling such events.
I would recommend reading, "East Pakistan the End Game" by Brig. A R Siddiqui [Pak Army] & "Emergence of Bangladesh" by Prof. Badruddin Umar, both published by Oxford University Press, Pakistan; for a candid view from two opposing perceptions.
As an Indian I am glad that the perpetrators of crime are being tried.I must also shamefully admit that India took advantage of the situation in 1971 to breakup pakistan,I wish that had never happened.The court should also try the perpetrators of crimes against biharis and non bengalis in 1971 by mukti bahini.The figures of 3 million dead is a gross exaggeration as has been confirmed by shramila bose's latest book.The Pakistan army fought bravely under Gen Niazi "Tiger" against an overwhelmingly large Indian army and even defeated them in western sector.
Now following this lead, India needs to try the terrorist mater minds who trained, armed and then infiltrated Mukti Bahini terrorists into then East Pakistan, who slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent Bangalis..
Let the justice be served on Indian army and RAW for planning and executing the massive killings...
@Sharjeel Jawaid: The estimate of those who were butchered ranges between one to three millions. Is one million a less figure? Surprisingly only one caught but there may be a few hundreds more including military officers.
If you want listen the Truth you may contact any migrant living in Karachi, that was not the Genocide of Bangladeshi(BENGALI)! Infact it was a massive and brutal killing of Urdu Speaker living there. My 3 Uncles were killed, My Grand Mother Has to live in Nepal alone for a year. Several others left there Homes and property same situation is in Balochistan these days. SAD!!
sairaiki want a separate province punjabis should think that if they cannot give identity to them how will they give rights to them punjabis should learn from history what is going in balochistan can happen in saraikistan plz learn from history we want today Pakistan DONOT PUSH US towards anything else.
@Pundit: I second it, third it, fourth it, fifth it, s......................
@shuja: Countless pakistanis are still living in camps in Bangladesh leading miserable lives So who is responsible for their continued forced stay in Bangladeshi camps ? Thoda sa mujhe educate karo, Bhai Saheb.
@Chilli: Not very clear on what you are saying, Bhai jaan. If your sympathies are with the so called Biharis stranded in Bangladesh then why are they not allowed to return to West Pakistan, the home where they want to be in.
A Bangladeshi is being tried by a Bangladeshi court ,for crime commited against his fellow Bangladeshis. Why should it make Pakistanis so jittery as seen in the comments here?
Very good. there are people in Pakistan who should be tried and Bangladesh should demand them to be brought to trial. People who did mass killing should be brought to justice. Best is they are accused of rape. If convicted it will reveal JI's true face
This is a conspiracy to attack and weaken the Paki Army and ISI by maligning it....
I denounce it completely!
The figure of three million killed by Pakistan Army is highly exaggerated, notwithstanding that atrocities were committed.
Further no consideration is given to the killing of pro-Pakistani elements, including ethnic Bengalis staring March 01, 1971.
@Kafka:
Tragic for Pakistan. Not Bangladesh.
Charging people only on myths.No doubt attrocities are committed when their is war but by both sides.Can any government ie. Bangladesh or Pakistan provide confirmed proof that three million people were killed by Pakistan army.Countless pakistanis are still living in camps in Bangladesh leading miserable lives.Independent nations have high ideals of live and let others live instead of vengeance and anger.Follow thw great Nelson Mandela.
Pakistani Establishment and their created cronies could not succeed to subjugate Bangladeshi through guns.If our Establishment thinks without resolving genuine demands of Sindhis and Balochs, and by continuing the same old failed policy of terror as they used against Bangladeshis,they succeed..they are wrong.The progressive and nationalist activists in Sindh and Balochistan are continuously being disappeared and targeted, such tactics wont solve the problem rather will add fuel more tensions.
Wish our establishment have mercy on our own people, and learn some lessons from history,for peaceful and progressive Pakistan,they should fulfill the demands of smaller provinces- Full autonomy to provinces.
@kdk
Why dont they merge again with Pakistan, if their war of independence was just a conspiracy. So the bengalis still dont know about the conspiracy?
Finally the real story of 1971 will be told !!
@Chilli:
Can you guys write anything sensible without bringing your god in the fray?
Justice done ------it should be an eye opner for all .One can not hide behind crime.
Oh yeah...is PM Hasina going to go after the Mukti Bahini terrorists? These were the same thugs who killed my uncle in Dhaka and he was just a civilian working with a local tea company.
That was not the fight for Independence that was RAW's secret plan and conspiracy.Express Tribune has broken all the records of propaganda
I strongly believe that atrocities were committed on both ends but little is talked about pro Pakistanis trapped and killed in so called freedom war. I am sure Bangladesh will not be pardoned by Allah if they protect their own wrong doers.
Fall of Dhaka in 1971 was a tragic chapter in the history of both Bangladesh and Pakistan. Unfortunately, Pakistan has failed to learn anything from that debacle while Bangladesh could never establish credible facts to show the world what actually happened there.