5 Moulvibazar men charged with war crimes

The prosecution today pressed five specific charges against five persons of Moulvibazar for crimes allegedly committed by them during the Liberation War in 1971.

Prosecutors Sultan Mahmud Simon and Abul Kalam submitted the formal charges to the International Crimes Tribunal-1 through its registrar office.

The tribunal fixed June 9 to decide whether to accept the charges.

Accused Samsul Hossain Tarafder, 65, of Bagajura was an Al-Badr commander while Nesar Ali, 75, of Jamura; Yunus Ahmed, 71, of Sonatiki; Ujer Ahmed Chowdhury, 63, of Goashpur village; and Mobarak Mia, 66, under Rajnagar, were involved with the Razakar Bahini, the prosecution said earlier.

Among them, Yunus and Ujer have been in jail since their arrest on October 13 last year following a warrant issued by the tribunal-1 while the rest three remain absconding.

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Starting on October 12, 2014, the investigation was completed on January 20 this year with 36 people being cited as prosecution witnesses, according to the prosecution.

The charges are : killing of Danu Mia, looting and torching of three houses and confinement of three people between November 22 and December 5; abduction, confinement and torture of three people and looting and torching of the houses of one Harendra Bhattacharya on November 23; killing of one Jamini Mohan Dev and abduction, confinement and torture of three people on November 25; abduction of four people including one Rasraj Bhattacharya on November 27; abduction and torture of four people and killing of two in between November 29 and December 8; and killing of 14 people including one Shushital Dhar on December 29.