Bangladesh: Jamaat-e-Islami's crimes against humanity. The verdict on Ghulam Azam

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 finally delivered the much awaited verdict against Ghulam Azam (91), the main accused in the sensational trial who was the chief of the East Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami in 1971, for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War that year. The court, following a strenuous legal procedure, sentenced him to 90 years of prison terms. The court awarded him the prison terms on consideration of his advanced age and physical condition. Earlier, the tribunal indicted Ghulam Azam on five charges on 61 counts of crimes including incitement for genocide, torture and plots to thwart the independence of Bangladesh. ICT found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of all the crimes and awarded the punishment. He will serve the prison terms one after another until his death. Not surprisingly, both prosecution and defence lawyers expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict – the prosecution felt dismayed as he was not awarded capital punishment though found guilty on all charges; the defence lawyers rejected it immediately saying they would challenge it in an appeal to the higher court for his acquittal. Centering the verdict, the country once again plunged into sporadic violence. Islamic Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami had called for total shut-down of the country on Monday which led to unfortunate deaths of some people in clashes between Jamaat supporters and the police. Unhappy with the verdict they called for a shut-down on Tuesday as well. Meanwhile, various student fronts of the country expressed their dissatisfaction over the ICT verdict as it did not award Ghulam Azam the death sentence, and called for a total shut-down of the country on Tuesday, which again led to deaths and destruction across the country. The atrocities committed by Jamaat-e-Islami and its cohorts in 1971 constitute the most tragic chapter in the history of the nation. The scale of the genocide, and the loss in terms of human life and property had overwhelmed the entire world. The trial and punishment of those found guilty of taking part in the atrocities were therefore legitimate demands of the nation. With the verdict of Ghulam Azam delivered, one phase of the process has come to an end. It now remains to be seen that the pending cases of crimes against humanity are rounded off so that the dark and ominous shadow hovering over the nation for the last 43 years is dispelled for ever.