Gallows for Salauddin Quader Chowdhury

DHAKA, Oct 1:  A War Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh has found BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury guilty of crimes against humanity during the war for independence from Pakistan in 1971 and awarded him death sentence.

The three-member International Crimes Tribunal 1, headed by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, pronounced the verdict on Tuesday afternoon.

This was the first war crimes verdict regarding any BNP leader and seventh since the tribunal was instituted to try war crimes under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973.

 

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury was found guilty of nine charges of horrendous war crimes -- including murder and genocide-perpetrated during the nation`s War of Independence in 1971.

SQ Chowdhury was indicted on 23 charges of crimes against humanity but the prosecution placed witnesses in 17 charges.

The six-time MP from Chittagong was given the capital punishment for each of four other charges — 3, 5, 6 and 8 — that include murder, genocide and murder after abduction.

The tribunal sentenced Salauddin Quader to 20 years in prison for three charges – 2, 4, and 7 - each.

Salauddin Quader, who is also a member of the BNP’s National Standing Committee, was given five years imprisonment each for another two charges — 17 and 18.

 

But the prosecution failed to prove charges 1, 10, 11, 12, 14, 19, 20 and 23.

Remaining six charges (9, 13, 15, 16, 21 and 22) were not evaluated as the prosecution failed to produce any witnesses to substantiate them.

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, son of Convention Muslim League leader Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, was arrested on December 16, 2010 in the capital’s Banani area in connection with a case filed for torching a car at Maghbazar on June 26 the same year.

After the tribunal issued an arrest warrant on December 19, 2010, he was shown arrested in the war crimes case filed with the tribunal. On January 17 the next year, he was sent to jail.

Salauddin Quader claimed that he had been in Pakistan from March 29, 1971 to April 20, 1974, and three other defence witnesses echoed him.


risingbd/ASB