The detained BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s senior defence counsel Ahsanul Huq Hena on Sunday appealed to International Crimes Tribunal 1 seeking police protection during general strikes or any other political programmes and a full-time uniformed police gunman.
This is for the first time that a defence lawyer has sought police protection. The members of the prosecution team get a gunman each and police protection for their security.
Senior lawyers for the people accused of war crimes usually remain absent from tribunal proceedings during general strikes showing ‘unavoidable circumstances’ or ‘personal grounds.’
The tribunal earlier imposed cost on Ghulam Azam’s counsel twice for failing to appear in the tribunal on days of general strike. The tribunal also cautioned Hena for the same reasons.
Hena in his application said that he was the senior defence counsel in cases of Salauddin and Mobarak Hosain now pending with Tribunal 1 and the case of Abdul Alim pending with Tribunal 2 and the proceedings were not adjourned on days of general strike.
The application said that political parties were holding protests and gatherings and calling for strikes frequently these days on various issues and it was not safe for him to attend the tribunal during strikes and other political programmes when mostly vehicles are damaged and burnt.
‘The prosecutors get sufficient police protection and gunmen for their safety while coming to the tribunal and back home. Similar facilities should also be given to the senior defence counsel, who is defending three cases in Tribunal 1 and Tribunal 2,’ the petition said.
The tribunal posted for today the hearing on the petition.
Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam’s lawyer M Tajul Islam later filed an application with the tribunal seeking tribunal’s permission to meet Ghulam Azam in the prison cell in Bangabandu Sheikh Mujib Medical University hospital to take his directives about the case.
Tajul later submitted that they would need the whole day for completing arguments on facts defending Ghulam Azam.
Salauddin’s lawyer Hena, who was scheduled to cross-examine a prosecution witness, then sought the tribunal’s permission to allow him to leave the tribunal as Ghulam Azam’s defence would need the whole day.
Prosecutor Zead-Al Malum, at this point, opposed this plea and referred to Salauddin Quader Chowdhury as ‘SaKa.’
At this, Hena lodged his protest and said Malum could not distort Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s name by calling him SaKa. ‘How would he [Malum] feel if he is called by his name distorted?’
Tribunal member Justice Jahangir Hossain told Malum whether it was right to call people by their names distorted.
Malum wanted to know why the tribunal could not tolerate and scolded him often.
‘Why shall I scold you? Do I get anything from scolding you? What are you saying, Mr Malum?’ Justice Jahangir Hossain said.
The tribunal chair, ATM Fazle Kabir, told Malum that he might have been disappointed about some matter but he should not say it in an open court.
‘Sorry, my lord,’ prosecutor Abdur Rahman Hawlader said immediately and Malum also repeatedly said ‘sorry’ to the tribunal.
The tribunal then adjourned the proceedings of Salauddin’s case until today.
Later Ghulam Azam’s defence lawyer Mizanul Islam began submitting his closing arguments for the fifth day.
His arguments remained incomplete when the tribunal adjourned the proceedings in the Ghulam Azam case until March 27. (Source)
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