Sayedee’s counsels quiz probe officer Aug 13

DHAKA: The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-1) again fixed August 13 for counsels of Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee to cross-examine the investigation officer Helaluddin.

ICT-1 led by Justice Nizamul Haque on Wednesday extended the time in response to a plea of defense lawyers.

Earlier on August 1, the tribunal asked the defense lawyers to complete the cross-examine process within August 8.

A total of 46 witnesses gave depositions against Jamaat leader Sayedee for his alleged involvement in ‘crimes against humanity’.

The tribunal also rejected the plea for taking the depositions of rest 31 witnesses as testimony.

Regarding deposition taken as testimony, the tribunal said, “These depositions are documents of the case as per section 19(2) of International Crimes Tribunal Act.

Sayedee was arrested on June 29, 2010 in a case filed for hurting religious sentiment of Muslims.

Later, he was shown arrested for his involvement in ‘crimes against humanity’ during the country’s Liberation War. He is one of five top leaders of the party detained for similar charges.

A total of 77 pages of probe report were submitted against him and the prosecution had 68 witnesses against the Jamaat leader.

Earlier, the ICT framed 20 charges against Sayedee on October 3 of the last year. Of them, there are charges of wartime “crime against humanity” and “complicity in genocide”.

On May 31 in 2011, the tribunal had directed the prosecutors to press formal charges against the Jamaat leader on July 11, as a voluminous probe report on allegations of wartime crimes was submitted against him earlier that day.

Since July 21 in 2010 till May 30, 2011, a total of 313 days had been spent on investigation into Sayedee’s complicity in crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.

BDST: 1427 HRS, AUG 08, 2012
Edited by: Maria Salam, Asst Output Editor/ SM Salahuddin, Output Editor