By Mizan Rahman/Dhaka
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 yesterday condemned fugitive Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Zahid Hossain alias Khokon Razakar, also a mayor of Nagarkanda municipality in Faridpur district, to death for crimes against humanity, including genocide, during the Liberation War in 1971.
He is the second BNP leader to receive capital punishment after Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury. Keeping the verdict pending for seven months, tribunal chairman justice M Enayetur Rahim, flanked by two other members -- justice Jahangir Hossain and justice Anwarul Haque -- pronounced the verdict in a crowded courtroom amid tight security in and around the century-old high court building.
“The convict will be hanged by neck until he is dead,” said justice Rahim, merging 40 years’ rigorous imprisonment for other the tfour counts of war crimes charges into the capital punishment.
“The sentences and convictions were unanimous,” said Rahim.
The 109-page judgment was read out by the tribunal judges in phases for an hour.
The tribunal awarded Khokon the capital punishment for each of the six counts of crimes against humanity like murder, abduction, torture, rape, torching houses and temples, loot, forced conversion and deportation.
The tribunal also sentenced the fugitive local BNP leader to different terms of rigorous imprisonment on four other almost similar war crimes charges.
It, however, acquitted the incumbent mayor of Nagarkanda municipality, Faridpur, of only one charge of crimes against humanity as the prosecution failed to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt.
With the day’s pronouncement of judgment, the two ICTs have so far delivered 12 judgments since their formation in March 2010 and 2012 respectively.
Among the war crimes cases, seven Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Ghulam Azam, Motiur Rahman Nizami, Delwar Hossain Sayedee, Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid, Abdul Quader Mollah, M Kamaruzzaman and Mir Quasem Ali, one expelled Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar and two Jamaat’s Al Badr operators Ashrafuzzaman Khan and Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and three BNP leaders Abdul Alim and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Khokon have been punished.
The tribunal on October 9, 2013 indicted Zahid Hossain alias Khokon Razakar in absentia for his involvement in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War, dismissing the discharge plea moved by the state-appointed defence counsel.
Septuagenarian Khokon, also Nagarkanda sub-district BNP vice-president, faced 11 counts of war crimes charges like loot, arson, repression, conversion under duress, rape, killing and genocide in his locality during the Liberation War in collaboration with the Pakistan occupation army.
According to the investigation agency, Khokon, a close associate of fugitive Maulana Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar, a condemned war crimes convict from Faridpur, had taken part in an election campaign for a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate in 1970, and was involved with the party. Later, he joined BNP.
On June 23, 2013, the prosecution submitted to the tribunal formal war crimes charges against the incumbent Nagarkanda municipality mayor and produced 24 prosecution witnesses to prove the charges made against the accused.
Advocate Mukhlesur Rahman Badal conducted the case for the prosecution while state defence counsel, A Shukur Khan, stood for the fugitive accused.
