Dhaka, Nov 5 By the time Prosecutor Syed Haider Ali began his closing argument on Monday, the main event of the day, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee's defence lawyers had all left the court.
A Jamaat executive council member indicted for 20 war crimes charges, Sayedee's lawyers were protesting, what they said, the first war crimes tribunal's inaction regarding an 'abducted witness'.
There was little sign when the court convened after lunch recess that it had been the site of wild tantrums as the court plunged into chaos.
Sayedee's senior defence counsel Mizanul Islam had said at the very start of the day that one of his witnesses — Shukhranjan Bali who was previously listed as a prosecution witness — had been abducted.
He alleged that this had been done by plainclothesmen at the gates of the tribunal. The defence counsel said his witness had been whisked away in a RAB car.
The three-judge Interntaional Crimes Tribunal-1, set up to try crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, indicted Sayedee on Oct 3, 2011 for crimes including murder, rape, arson and loot mostly in and around Pirojpur's Parerhat area.
The counsel said policemen at the tribunal's entrance had asked everyone to get down. "They said only I would be allowed to come by car and everyone else would have to walk to the building."
It was at this time that the witness, travelling with the counsel, had gotten down, just outside the tribunal premises. According to the counsel, plainclothesmen asked the witness and a junior lawyer to come with them for a little chat.
Mizanul Islam said that his witness was thereafter taken away.
The scheduled closing argument in the first war crimes case at the tribunal had come with heightened security with the law enforcers standing guard at all sides of the tribunal and checking IDs.
Tribunal Chairman Justice Mohammad Nizamul Huq who was listening to the whole incident, said it had been the tribunal's decision to raise security measures. He also said he would not allow the tribunal to become a market. "You cannot just bring 100 lawyers if you want."
He said the designated counsels concerned with the cases had been given passes and the tribunal in fact found it rather encouraging that junior lawyers were learning from attending the cases, when the defence wondered whether the tribunal was restricting lawyers.
However, Justice Huq also agreed with the defence counsel that asking everyone to get off their car and walk on foot was unwarranted. He then called for the tribunal's registrar who appeared shortly afterwards and said almost the same thing — he had apparently directed the law enforcers to check everyone but not restrict their entry.
The defence counsels protested strongly saying it was not the case at all and those standing guard hardly knew many of the counsels. They were obstructing the lawyers.
Jamaat's chief defence counsel, also an Assistant Secretary General of the party, Abdur Razzaq said that the plainclothesmen, having abducted a witness, had perverted the course of justice and sought protection of the court.
After hearing the matter the tribunal directed the chief prosecutor and lead investigator to probe what had actually happened.
Both Razzaq and Mizanul Islam said they expected the court to give an order to produce the witness before it.
Chief prosecutor Ghulam Arieff Tipoo returned sometime later to say regarding the abduction, "No such incident has taken place." By this time the court had begun to hear defence petitions and was in the middle of one petition pleading that Sayedee himself be given an opportunity to speak.
The grumble among the defence lawyers that had been low through the morning became even more audible at this point with some of the lawyers saying that this was a lie.
Another senior defence counsel, M Tajul Islam, had stood up several times but the tribunal stiffly refused to hear him pointing that either Abdur Razzaq, his senior, was submitting or that Mizanul Islam was addressing the tribunal.
Tipoo told the court that he and the lead investigator spoke to a number of police officers of the area and found nothing. "Whatever measures there were, they were entirely for security purposes."
It was almost time for lunch recess and the court said it would itself inquire after the matter during the recess. Justice Huq said the tribunal would decide on the matter after lunch.
Mizanul Islam implored the tribunal to listen to what he had to say, but constant undertone remarks had irritated the tribunal.
Close to the end of the first session, Justice Huq could not hold back from saying, "Mr Tajul Islam, this is too much! I must say you are not behaving professionally."
Mizanul Islam was still trying to put in his words but Justice Huq had had enough. He said, "No, we won't hear you."
This caused Mizanul Islam to begin his voluble protests. "Then tell us to go away and we won't bother to come here at all."
The judges had left by this time and the defence counsel began shouting that it was pointless to come to the court.
The defence team was up on its feet with loud shouts of protest. There were derogatory expressions from observers. A loud 'Thuuuh!' — indicating spitting on the court — could be heard twice.
The tension was quite evident from the voices and expressions when the defence counsels filed out of the court and addressed the press.
They said the tribunal was apparently not providing them the protection it should have. "They don't believe lawyers of the court but listen to what the police have to say. If a witness is abducted like this today then it could happen to a lawyer tomorrow," said Tajul Islam.
"We have come here to perform our professional duties. We have not come to a war. We cannot perform our duties under such threat."
At one point of the briefing Tajul Islam said, "The tribunal might even have some sort of involvement with the incident."
Defence lawyers said it was admittedly upon the tribunal's decision that security was beefed up on the day suggesting that the abduction and the sudden security measure on the same day might not have been entirely the workings of chance.
Let Sayedee speak
Razzaq, along with a number of other high-profile lawyers with opposition leanings like the former Law Minister, Moudud Ahmed, an advisor to BNP chief Khaleda Zia, Khandaker Mahbub Hossain and Zainul Abedin, were at hand to plead the court to give Sayedee an opportunity to speak for himself.
There was extensive argument on the matter with the defence lawyers saying that the accused be given a chance to explain his position as regards each of the 20 charges.
However, the prosecution said Sayedee had been given his chance to speak as regards the charges on the day of indictment. Prosecutor Syed Haider Ali, conducting the Sayedee case, said, "The laws of the tribunal does not provide for further chance for the witness to speak."
Haider Ali said the Jamaat leader had been accorded enough opportunity to address the court and the case proceedings had duly ensured all the rights given to an accused by the law.
The tribunal also heard Moudud Ahmed and Mahbub Hossain in this regard.
After lunch, the tribunal said in a short order that the petition to allow Sayedee to speak was rejected.
Sayedee still speaks
Delwar Hossain Sayedee stood up to address the court when Justice Huq asked the prosecutor to begin his arguments.
Haider Ali was about to begin when Sayedee called out. Justice Huq indicated his approval for the accused to speak.
Sayedee said the tribunal had concocted a false case against him that stood on a mountain of lies. "This is the greatest lie of the century that the prosecution has dished out here."
He said, "The apple of my eye, my eldest son, died of a heart attack right here simply listening to these lies."
The accused said he had lost his mother several months before losing his son and asked the tribunal to give him his right to speak and defend himself.
The tribunal said that the accused would certainly be given scope to defend himself but only if the law permitted. "Not otherwise."
Sayedee told the tribunal that it was his right to defend himself and told the tribunal, "You will be held accountable by the Almighty as well as to your conscience if you don't give me my right."
Justice Huq said that Sayedee had his defence counsels who would answer on his behalf.
Sayedee, however, pointed out that none of his defence counsels were in the court. "You did not bring me up here earlier when there was apparently an argument on a petition but you have brought me up here now."
He asked, "Why are my counsels not present here?"
Justice Huq replied, "That you must ask your counsels yourself."
"But how can I? I am your prisoner," said Sayedee. The tribunal then urged the prosecutor to begin his argument.
Sayedee said that only his lawyers would be able to listen to the prosecutor's argument and reply appropriately. "But I am not a lawyer. Why don't you send me back to the prison and you and the prosecutors here can do whatever takes your fancy."
The tribunal said such statements were unwarranted and would have been best left unsaid. "But you are only venting your exasperation," said Justice Huq with empathy.
The prosecutor once again went through the rights of the accused and he also went through the legal provisions in case lawyers violated their responsibilities after being given the power of attorney.
By the end of the day, Haider Ali had gotten through presenting his case for four of the 20 charges.
First case to trial
Sayedee's is the first case to proceed to the trial stage in the war crimes tribunals. The prosecution on Sep 4, 2011 proposed framing of charges against him on 31 counts of crimes against humanity.
The tribunal also sent Jamaat's former chief Ghulam Azam to jail on Jan 11. His indictment hearing began on Feb 15 and the court charged him on May 13.
Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla are also behind bars on war crimes charges. Jamaat financier Mir Quasem Ali was also arrested recently on similar charges as investigation continues into allegations against him.
BNP MP and Standing Committee member, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, also behind bars, was indicted for 23 charges on Apr 4.
Former BNP lawmaker and minister Abdul Alim is the only one out on bail. All cases have already entered the trial phase.
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