Jamayete islami Bangladesh party which had acted as war criminal enjoyed organisational right after liberation of Bangladesh

Internationally, there is not a single example that the party which had acted as war criminal enjoyed their organisational right after liberation of a country.

A week after filing a complaint against “anti-liberation” political party – Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami – for its complicity in crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, the investigation agency of the war crimes tribunal is ready to submit its probe report.

Moreover, the prosecution now hopes to place the formal charges in mid-September.

Abdul Hannan Khan, chief coordinator of the tribunal’s investigation agency, last week said they appointed Motiur Rahman as the investigation officer (IO) while filing the complaint.

Motiur said he was working on it following the verdict against Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla on February 5, and that they were near the end of probe.

He said in the mean time, “we get some judgements that make our task easier. The last few verdicts identified Jamaat as a criminal organisation which is a milestone for our investigation.”
Prosecutor Tureen Afroz told the Dhaka Tribune: “I am working on the issue since getting appointed as a prosecutor at the tribunal. There is many evidence against Jamaat, which is already known as an ‘anti-liberation’ political party.”

About the investigation process, IO Motiur said: “The prosecution provided me with some evidences. I have to scrutinise and place the proper statements of witness.”

Asked why they filed the complaint at the end of investigation, he said:
“It is just a procedure. But we are working on this informally since February.”

There had been some misconceptions on the process of trying Jamaat. On August 17, Hannan said they were not prepared to start the procedure whereas Chief Investigation Officer Sanaul Haque confirmed that the probe began in February.

Moreover, the next day, the investigation agency filed the complaint in their registration book.

Now, Tureen is hopeful about submitting the formal charge by mid-September. She said: “Internationally, there is not a single example that the party which had acted as war criminal enjoyed their organisational right after liberation of a country. So they will have to face trial.”

Meanwhile, Sanaul said: “The activities of razakars, al-Badr, al-Shams and Peace Committee – all the auxiliary forces of the Pakistani occupation army – will also come under investigation in this case.”

Evidence says these forces were formed following the political decision of Jamaat. He added that they were studying the international instances of trials like the Nuremburg and others.

In the verdict against Kamaruzzaman, the tribunal said in its observation:
“Jamaat-e-Islami had played substantial role in organising and establishing its two wings conceivably to join the [Pakistan] military’s efforts. Therefore, it is now history based on old authoritative documents that chiefly it was Jamaat-e-Islami that played substantial role in formation of al-Badar, razakar, al-Shams and peace committees and of course not with intent to guard the civilians and their property.”

The tribunal in its verdict in Ghulam Azam case said Jamaat had played a “foul role” during the independence of Pakistan, under the leadership of the party’s founder Syed Abul A’la Maududi during the independence of Bangladesh and under the leadership of Maududi’s disciple Ghulam Azam.

On August 1, the High Court bench of justices M Moazzam Husain, M Enayetur Rahim, and Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque cancelled Jamaat’s registration with the Election Commission.