Hearing on charge framing against Salauddin Quader Chowdhury starts

Dhaka Bureau: The tribunal, headed by its Chairman Justice Nizamul Huq, sunday for the first time began the hearing on charge-framing against Salahauddin Quader Chowdhury for his involvement with the crimes that he allegedly committed during the Liberation War in 1971.
The prosecution on Sunday placed 25 counts of incidents containing 77 crimes against humanity charges allegedly committed by BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury before the International Crimes Tribunal.

The charges include 15 genocide, eleven tortures, 10 confinement, nine abductions, eight murders, eight persecutions, eight “bodily harmed”, seven deportations and one rape.

Prosecutor Zead Al Malum placed the charges as the tribunal for the first time started the hearing on the charge-framing against the detained BNP leader in connection with crimes against humanity committed during the country's Liberation War in 1971.
In connection with crimes against humanity committed during the country's Liberation War
the International Crimes Tribunal is holding hearing on Sunday on the charge-framing against BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury .
Earlier in the morning, detained Salauddin Quader Chy, who faces 24 counts of crimes against humanity, was produced before the three-judge tribunal.
The prosecution on November 14 last year submitted formal charges against the BNP leader, alleging that he had been directly and indirectly involved in crimes including genocide, killing, torture and abduction during the war.
The tribunal on December 19 accepted the charges against Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and fixed January 15 for starting the hearing on charge-framing against him.
Salauddin committed the crimes as an individual and also as the brigadier of collaborating force Al-Shams in Chittagong, as his father Fazlul Quader Chowdhury was the founder of that force and a loyal supporter of the Pakistan rulers, prosecutor Rana Dasgupta said.
Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, who had been a central minister of Pakistan during Ayub Khan regime, became the Speaker of Pakistan National Assembly in 1963.
He had established a torture camp at his Goods Hill residence in Raozan, where Salauddin tortured many pro-liberation people during the war for independence, the prosecutor said.
Advocate Rana Dasgupta added the prosecution had collected evidence that Salauddin was responsible for killing more than 100 people including Natun Chandra Singha, founder of Kundeshwari Oushadhalaya; Makhanlal Sharma in Madhya Bahira, and Manindra Barua, Dayal Hari and Mahesh Mahajan in Bishwaspara of Raujan,Chittagong.