Monday, December 22, 2014

War crimes accused Syed Mohammad Qaisar

The International Crimes Tribunal will deliver its judgement in the case against war crimes accused Syed Mohammad Qaisar, a former Jatiya Party state minister, for his alleged involvement in the killing of over 150 people mostly Hindus, rape and other crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.
Justice Obaidul Hassan, chairman of tribunal 2, passed the order yesterday.
During the closing arguments in the case, the prosecution sought death for Qaisar for the crimes he had committed as the top leader of “Qaisar Bahini” – a group formed with 500-700 anti-liberation people in Habiganj and Brahmanbaria to collaborate with the Pakistani occupation forces.
The prosecution also demanded compensation for two rape victims and a war baby.
According to the prosecution, he was a local Peace Committee leader and razakar commander. Son of a Muslim League leader, Qaisar had been affiliated with Convention Muslim League, BNP and Jatiya Party in his political career.
Qaisar from Itakhola village at Madhabpur in Habiganj contested the 1970’s election as an independent candidate but was defeated. After the independence, he fled to London and on his return in 1978 Qaisar was elected an MP in the 1979 election as an independent candidate and joined the BNP under the leadership of Gen Ziaur Rahman.
Later he joined the Jatiya Party and was elected from Habiganj 4 in 1986 and 1988 elections. In 1988, Qaisar joined the Jatiya Party and became state minister for agriculture.
The accused was arrested on May 16 last year, just a day after the tribunal had ordered his arrest, and admitted to a private hospital in the capital. The tribunal later granted him conditional bail considering his age.
The 73-year-old is facing 16 charges of crimes against humanity that include genocide, torture, murder and rape.
He was indicted on February 2 and the trial began on March 4. A total of
 32 prosecution witnesses including a rape victim and a war baby testified against the accused; the defence, however, did not place any witness.
On August 20, the tribunal kept the case adjourned for verdict. It also cancelled his bail and ordered jail. The prosecution said since war crimes convict Abdul Alim had not been given capital punishment due to old age, Qaisar tried to show his complications before the tribunal.
On charge 16, Qaisar was charged for participating, abetting, facilitating and substantially contributing in the actual commission of the killing of 108 unarmed civilians belonging to Hindu community in Nasirnagar.
In charge 12, the tribunal said at noon of a day in mid-August, Qaisar, his companions in “Qaisar Bahini” and members of razakar force had brought Mazeda Begum, her father Atab Mia and uncle Ayub Mia to the army camp set up at Jagadishpur High School at Madhabpur, on capture from their house.
Qaisar had handed Mazeda over to the army, despite protest on her father’s part. The army men thus committed successive rape upon Mazeda.
In charges six, Qaisar has been charged for raping an indigenous woman, Hiramoni, on May 11 or 12th of 1971 at Chanpur Tea Garden. Qaisar along with the Pakistani army personnel had gone to Chunarughat area and raped the Santal woman.
Charges six, seven and eight mention the offences took place in May 1971. At that time, at least 17 people had been murdered and tortured by Qaisar along with the Pakistani army.
According to charges 12-16, he had captured freedom fighters from Chunarughat, Madhabpur and Nasirnagar. In these criminal incidents, Qaisar used his personal force “Qaisar Bahini” to assist the Pakistani Army.
Monwara Begum of the tribunal’s investigation agency conducted the probe against Qaisar. On May 29, 2010, the War Crime Fact Finding Committee handed over a list of the 19 top-rated war criminals to the tribunal. Qaisar’s name was on the list.
‘No Qaisar Bahini’
The defence of Qaisar during the closing arguments in the case claimed that there had been no collaborators’ group named “Qaisar Bahini” in Habiganj in 1971. Lawyer SM Shahjahan also claimed that the prosecution had failed to prove the case.
The defence refuted the claims made by third prosecution witness Md Tajul Islam, 83. During his testimony on March 30, Tajul apologised to the tribunal for his involvement in atrocities as a member of the “Qaisar Bahini.”
The witness said Qaisar had welcomed the Pakistani force to Shahbazpur along with his 15 associates on April 27, 1971. Then he met the commander of the Pakistan Army at Noapara and requested him to provide the group with arms. Tajul said he had been with Qaisar at that time.
The tribunal also recorded the description of formation of the “Qaisar Bahini.”
On April 14, Manzur Ali, a Convention Muslim League leader and uncle of Qaisar, called a meeting at his place where the chairman and the member of local Union Parishad were present. Qaisar joined the meeting. “I was present at that meeting and Qaisar was appointed as the chief of Peace Committee.”
Tajul admitted that he had also been made a member of the Peace Committee. “And after that meeting, Qaisar created his group with at least 500 people from Itkhola, Ghatua, Belghar and Bejura villages,” the witness said.
During the closing arguments, prosecutor Tureen Afroz said: “For the first time, a war child has testified in a war crimes trial in Bangladesh. Two women victims and the war child – also a woman – have been enduring miserable life. They were also subjected to social harassment. They are real claimants for compensation.”
Then the tribunal asked her about the process of paying compensation, if Qaisar was convicted. The prosecutor replied that it was possible to pay the victims from the property of the accused. Official documents stated that at least 25,000 women faced forced pregnancies during the Liberation War which was the result of one of the war strategies of the Pakistani Army and the collaborators, the prosecutor said.
https://vimeo.com/98656889

Friday, November 21, 2014

"Dialectical Maududism"-Mammedutty Nilambur

Assalamu alaikum,
I have been receiving lot of mails from some Jama'at Islami activists regarding their stand on Islam, Politics, Deen- Duniyavu, criticism of other organisations etc. I used this opportunity to study their books and observe their life style to analyse whether they are following this very strict principles of Jama'at Islami, made by the founder of Abul Ahla Moududi. I hereby attach my findings on Jama'at Islami as well as some new unfavourable developments in the Muslim Community. InshaAllah, it will be an insight for all INDEPENDENT thinkers who are not be a part of willing to carry out the orders or wishes of another without using their intellectual power. I would like to make it clear that I have no intention to hurt the feeling of anyone through my article and I request you, the readers, to take it as a part of defending the religion of Islam. May Allah bless us, and grant us the strength to excel both here and in the hereafter.
MammeduttyNilambur
"Dialectical Maududism"
Whether it is globally or locally, Islam urges the people to think from the perspective of Quran and Sunna. There are Muslims (?), saying that 'shariah' is to be modified because it was revealed to the Arabian people (locally?)1400 years ago and a global interpretation of Quran and Sunna are more relevant than local. But being a Muslim, I do believe that Quran is an indisputable revelation of the Creator, Almighty God to the entire people, nevertheless of their caste, sect, sex, colour, race, language, territory etc. So it is totally free from any kind of thinking/considering of locally or globally, instead represents the entire universe.
Allah said in Quran He has sent Messengers to the mankind in all ages to guide the people from evil to right path. Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was the last and final messenger to the mankind. Whoever follows him will be benefited and whoever denies him will go to astray. For the success of all human beings both here and in the here after will depend on their true beliefs and practices based on the guidance of Allah and the Sunna of Prophet (peace be upon him).
Prophet (peace be upon him) & Maulana Maududi.
I do believe that every true Muslim in the world not oppose to implement the Islamic law as a jurisprudence of his country because he/she has to believe that Sharia law is the most perfect and suitable for mankind since it is revealed from Allah, the Almighty God. But Muslims differed in many sects with different opinion on how, when and where it should be implemented.
Without any prejudice, if you analyse the Holy Quran and the life of Prophet (peace be upon him) we can understand that first preferences always given to the purification of people in their beliefs and practices. Prophet (peace be upon him) started his 'Dawah' primarily by inviting people to the fundamental principle of Islam i.e. no One worthy to worship but Allah alone and no associate and partner to Him. Apart from this Prophet (peace be upon him) has taught his companions about all major sin to minor sin as well as the most rewardable deed to the least one.
If establishing the kingdom of Allah in the world by removing the unislamic government is an important deed for a Muslim, why did not prophet (peace be upon him), the messenger of Allah, teach the Muslims about it? Instead, many prophets lived and preached the message of Islam (the word meaning itself is PEACE) while living in unislamic ruling existing countries. Even some worked in 'Tagood government' (a Maududi style). For example Prophet Yoosuf alaisalaam was a Minister of a non Muslim ruler, king Walid bin Rayyan.
It is relevant to remember the saying of prophet (peace be upon him)' whoever sought guidance from books other than the Quran, Allah will lead him astray (At-Tirmidhi 2906). This saying should be an insight for all Muslims to evaluate critically about some of our contemporary thinkers who interpreted Quran and Sunna for their worldly benefit by adopting the method of Karal Marx and Shiia.
When the Quaraysh told prophet (peace be upon him); you have brought to your people a matter of worry, you have declared their way of life to be foolish, you have insulted their gods. If what you want is money, we will put together a fortune for you, so that you may be richest of us; if you want honour we will make you our chief, if you want power, we will make you king. Prophet replied to them; "I swear by Allah if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I give up my work, I would not abandon it until it becomes victories or I lose my life in its course". If the intention of prophet was establishing the kingdom of Allah he would have accepted the offers of quaraysh. It shows that establishing Kingdom of Allah in the world is not important while comparing to inviting the people to the fundamental principle of Islam i.e. no one worthy to worship but Allah alone.
But it is unfortunate to see that some people are spending their time and energy for establishing the kingdom of Allah/Islamic State, in the world rather than purifying and correcting the people from their deviant beliefs and practices according to the Quran and Sunna. Implementing the Islamic law in the world is absolutely difficult than practising it in our life. But some people think that religion without power is just like some one staying in an imaginary home in the world (Qutubaat page: 408). But in contrary, he, Moulana Moududi also died without constructing such a home in this world and even many prophets were passed away without constructing such a home in this world. It was one of the greatest blunders of Moulana Maududi since many prophets lived in this REAL world without having power. Is it meant that they had lived here without being a true Muslim? MahadaAllah!

"Is congregation of five times prayer for establishing an Islamic state?"

Allah's Apostle said, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intention and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Apostle, then his emigration was for Allah and His Apostle. And whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for." (Saheeh Bukhaaree). But see what Maududi said about prayer; congregation of five times prayer in a day is training Muslims to establish a strong Islamic state (Qutubaat page: 203). It means, all Jama'ate Islami believers offering their five times prayer with an intention of establishing an Islamic state in his living country. Now my dear readers just compare this Maududism with prophet's (peace be upon him) saying; then you can understand that there is big difference between Prophet's Followers and Maududi's followers. We Muslims are doing our good deeds to get reward from Allah in the life after death. But they are doing it for establishing Islamic state. Let us seek refuge to Allah.

Method of corrupting Islam:
People those who are against Islam always trying to tarnish and corrupt religion both within the community as well as outside the community. But generally they are appearing with a different interpretation and approach to the Quran and Sunna. I hope it is not necessary to discus about the grave worshipers of some name sake Muslims since it may be clear to even ordinary people. But it is quite difficult to understand about such people those who present their deviant pseudo thoughts in the name of Islam with hard literature. They are trying to corrupt the religion by introducing unislamic revolutionary modes of thoughts which in reality is an unpractical solution for the people but leads to the birth of destructive political movements among the Muslims. Moulana Maududi and his organisation, Jamat-e-islami and its offshoots are the best example for this kind. They have been misinterpreted the Quran and Sunna for their political motives and hence, misunderstood by the people that Islam is a politically oriented religion to rule the entire world. They even have changed the pure concept of Thouhid, Ebatha, Elaah, Jihad, etc for the benefit of their deviant pseudo-Islamic thought.
In fact many people accepted the Islam by understanding that it is a religion of PEACE and not a religion to rule the entire world. But unfortunately some Muslim brothers have misconception about even Islam that it is a religion to rule the entire world and hence, they spread this message of 'Hukumate Hilahi' among the Muslims. In reality, enemies using this opportunity to tarnish Islam as a religion of terrorist and intolerance
Secondly, they used to appear among the Muslims as a source of Unity, social service etc for the enrichment of the community. They always so talk active about the importance of unity of Muslims, welfare of Muslims, education of Muslims, political power of Muslims etc rather than unifying the Muslims in the Principles, beliefs and practices based on Quran and Sunna. Apparently, this sort of people are not really working in the course of Allah but helping the course of enemies to malign Islam. Islam is calumniated in its true beliefs and practices by such people. They are like the one who are trying to construct building without foundation and hence, leaving the Muslims as leather floating in the water.
Recently, due to the influence of the term 'modernisation', some Muslims leaders have been taken a new way of approach while understanding and interpreting Quran and Sunna. They claim that understanding of Quran and Sunna can be used timely according to the demand of the particular situation and hence, methodology of Sahaba, the companions of Prophet (peace be upon him) is not a requisite for understanding and interpreting Quran and Sunna. They might have felt inferior to say that we Muslims are still following the orthodox principles, beliefs and practices taught by a man, named Mohammed(peace be upon him) 1400 years back in Arabia (Alhamdulillah it is not outdated but still modernised). I would like to alert them that Allah the Creator of each and every thing, can foreknow, foresee, hear and more over He is free from the influence of time and space continuum. Due to the influence of this modern phenomenon, they have deviated from the methodology of the 'people of best nation' as Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned them and attracted to experiment modern approaches in Islam like Islamic Feminism, woman reading of Quran, Consensus of Public interest in Dawah (preaching), Rereading of Tauhid (Islamic Monotheism), Global Interpretation of Quran, Political campaign in the name of Islam, social Movements against Imperialism, Civil Rights movement, movement against exploiting natural resources etc
The most pertinent and the same time most disturbing aspect of this people is that they are so arrogant towards the Muslims, who are trying to follow strictly Quran and Sunna, than Atheist, pagans and others. They are very much cooperative and work together shoulder to shoulder with the enemies of Islam. Let me add some of the recent approaches of this people towards Islam to understand their stand in the course of Allah.
1. Rereading of Tawheed: According to the demand of changing world, rereading of Tawheed (monotheism) is to be done. It was from a program in Asianet, named 'Shahariyath' organised by Jama'at Islami and its offshoot ICC.It shows how far they are from the teaching of Prophet Mohammed salallahu alaiwasallam and the main stream of Islam. A Muslim should not think so since Tawheed is the core of Islam. It seems to be a blind imitation of the contemporary thinkers like Amina Wadud who used to claim that rereading of Quran should be done in the perspective of women as it was done in the perspective of men. They added that the major sin in the contemporary world is the exploitation of nature. But, according to Islam, the major sin is shirk (associating partners with Allah). See how far they are from the Aqeedah (creed) and Manhaj (methodology) of Muslims. Verily, all the Messengers began their call with Tawheed, which they were commanded by Allah to convey it to the people. He, the Most High, said:
We have not sent before you from the Messengers, except We inspired to him that He is the only One worthy of worship, so worship Him. [21:25]

2. Celebration of Onam (organised in a great manner in ICC, Abu Dhabi), praising of disbelievers, cooperating with them in Shirk etc are some of the example for their deviations from the Islam.

3. One Mr. Vanidas Elayavoor appeared in a Television channel for an interview during the last Ramadan programme, who has written books on Islam and published by IPH kerala (a Jama'ate Islami publication wing). During the said interview, he expressed his deep grievance on lack of harmony between Muslims and Hindus. He recollected the great (?) harmony of Muslims and Hindus by quoting Mughal emperor Akber and SamuthiriRaja Kozhicode. He said, during that period, people were so cooperative each other in their rituals and religious ceremony. Hindus would not have started their rituals in temple until Moulavees from mosque could reach in temple and vice versa. Now such good harmony between Muslims and Hindus are not seen because some people put poison and polluted this communal harmony. Definitely I can say that it was not done by his companions i.e. Jama;at Islami and its offshoots because they are not either teaching nor practising the true principles, beliefs and practices of Islam to people instead wasting their time and energy. This same person Mr. V.E has been delivered many speeches for Jama'at Islami, KMCC and others and used to request to the audience to pray for him to get Hidhayath (straight path). SubhanaAllah!! Anyway, he has chosen a right resort for his business that is 'JAMA'AT ISLAMI HIND'.

4. Buy 5 sandwiches & get one COLA free:
Please do not misunderstand that it is an advertisement given by a non Muslim or a Mujahid or a Samastha Sunni for the promotion of COCA COLA but it is done by a Jama'ate Islami activist. There is nothing concern to a Muslim since he may not see anything wrong in this advertisement but according to jama'at Islami it is just like giving the sovereignty of Allah to Coca Cola Company. As we understood, recently they have led a strong social movement against Coca Cola Company in Plachimada in Kerala and claimed that they have recaptured the sovereignty of water from coca cola Company for Allah. They have oversimplified Allah by doing so. SubuhanaAllah! Later, they have been trying to clear the accusation against supporting Communist party in Kerala election as saying that it's because of their strong agitation towards imperialism of America. I would like to ask to Jama'at Islami, when did you give back the sovereignty of water to Coca Cola Company from Allah? Is it also recaptured from Allah or you got any message from Allah?!! 'PARADOX is it not your name JAMA'AT ISLAMI'!! (Vyruthyame Ninte Perallayo 'JAMA'AT ISLAMI')

Miserable condition of Jamahate Islami:

After reading the so called questions of Jama'at Islami activists, I remembered one story of a scholar & boater. During the boating in the sea, scholar was asking many critical questions to the boater. The boater, the poor man, couldn't answer to the egotistic and confusing question of the scholar. Then scholar said to the boater, after first question, "your one-fourth part of the life has gone" Boater couldn't answer to the second and third question of the scholar. 

Then scholar said, "Your two-fourth and three-fourth part of the life has gone" But before asking the fourth question, the boater asked one simple question to the scholar; do you know swimming? Scholar, the lofty man, said NO! Then boater said, "Your full life has gone because the boat is going to sink". Our jama'ate Islami brothers are just like the said scholar in the story. They are asking lot of questions to confuse the people. But unfortunately they don't know the most important answer of a question in Islam 

i.e. "HOW TO SWIM TO ESCAPE FROM THE HELL FIRE".

What is to be done by a Muslim?

Muslim should avoid all kind of bias to any particular organization but we should well aware that we believe in the true Islam. It is very clear from the Quran that there are two groups in the world, one is the group of Allah and other is the Shaytâan (devils).

 The Quran says:-

Al-A'raf - 7:30
A group He has guided, and a group deserved to be in error; (because) surely they took the Shayâtin (devils) as Auliyâ' (protectors and helpers) instead of Allâh, and consider that they are guided. (Al-A'raf 7:30)

Prophet (peace be upon him) also said Muslims will divide as 73 groups but only one will remain with following the Quran and Sunna. So we must try to be in the group of Allah. As prophet (peace be upon him) said if there is any dispute between Muslims, return the matter to Quran and his Sunna.

Those who feel that speaking against deviant pseudo-Islamic groups is a waste of time and energy, is in fact total contradiction to Quran and Sunna. See what Allah says in Quran, In Soorah Aal'imraan 3:110 Allah says "you are the best nation raised up among mankind (because) you command the good and prohibit the evil" Commanding the good is not sufficient in itself to earn us the title "best of the nations" it must be complemented by the prohibitions of evil.

So let us invite the people to a common plat form i.e. no one worthy to worship but Allah alone and unite them in one banner and hence, to achieve a peaceful life here and in the here after. It is the duty of each and every Muslim to convey this message of true Islam to the entire people and those who introduce heretical writings and deviant religious rites contrary to Quran and Sunna have to be exposed.

Purifying the Religion of Allah and defending it from their attacks is a collective obligation, if Allah did not bring up some people to oppose the innovators, and then the religion would suffer harm, corruption and deviation. Indeed this type of corruption is even greater than the corruption resulting from the corruption of the disbelievers conquering the Muslims. Since when the unbelievers conquer the Muslims, they do not corrupt their hearts, or their religion, except after some time. But the innovators corrupt the hearts from the very beginning. So we must be always very much concerned and vigilant about these types of un- Islamic thoughts and practices. Allah knows better
And say: "My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the whisperings (suggestions) of the Shayâtin (devils). (Al-Mu'minun 23:97)
May Allah help us to abstain from all innovations which ultimately lead to astray. May Allah bless us and shows us with the straight path. May Allah strengthen us with USEFUL wisdom and knowledge and forgive our all mistakes. Aameen.

With prayers for the peaceful life here and in the here after
MammeduttyNilambur

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Don't Make Excuses for a Genocidal Criminal: On Ghulam Azam

Ghulam Azam, a war criminal, died in a Bangladeshi prison on October 23 while serving a 90-year sentence. During the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, the Pakistani army committed one of the largest genocides of the twentieth century. Azam's party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and militias formed by Azam, actively aided the Pakistani military to kill, loot, rape, torture, as well as commit arson and other crimes.
2014-11-05-GhulamAzam1.jpg
A piece was published in the Huffington Post UK on Oct 27 by Yasmin Khatun wrongly depicting Azam as a saint. This is a highly irresponsible attempt at historical revisionism, particularly given that most of the western world sided with the perpetrators of the genocide at the time.
In the offending article, Yasmin Khatun consistently refers to Azam as a "Professor." Azam was hardly a professor, he taught for barely four years in a small town high school. He never taught at the university level and never came close to meeting any requirements for a professorship. The fact that his supporters insist on referring to him as a professor is dangerously misleading.
Many Bangladeshis found a measure of redemption knowing that Azam finally died a prisoner, although even that is a tiny justice indeed, compared to the enormity of his crimes. As Bangladesh continues the battle against religious and political extremism, and forges ahead with the aims of progress and a sustainable secular democracy it must never be forgotten that the future of Bangladesh was once in peril, and threatened by the jihadist agenda of Azam and Jamaat.
It should be disturbing for everyone to have a major Western media outlet suddenly praising a convicted criminal of genocide. Even in the name of "free speech" one would never allow such denialism to pass if it pertained to the Nazi Holocaust. Why should the hundreds of thousands (some say millions) of victims of genocide in Bangladesh deserve less respect?
Azam was accused of five different types of crimes, forming a total of 61 points of complaints, including planning, provocation, involvement, conspiracy and murder. Azam had formed militia groups, such as Al-Badr and Al-Shams, and actively helped Pakistani troops to kill Bangladeshi freedom fighters and helpless civilians. Azam's active role in the genocide has been made clear since 1971, as he frequently made statements in the Daily Sangram, the mouthpiece of his party.
Reports to the contrary are a travesty of journalism and any historical revisionism in the media is a danger to our future. To print anything that lionizes convicted war criminals of Bangladesh is an insult to the countless victims, and shows disrespect to the country of Bangladesh, whose freedom was earned at the highest of costs.




Sabbir Khan Headshot

Monday, November 3, 2014

Sohagpur 34 widows want execution of Wat Criminal Kamaruzzaman-Sumi Khan





On 9 May 2013 the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced him to death after it found Kamaruzzaman guilty of crimes against humanity including genocide, killing, rape, looting, arson, and deportation of people during the Bangladesh Liberation War.Bangladesh's Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty handed down for a Jamaat-e-Islami leader for atrocities committed more than four decades ago, the latest in a spate of rulings against the Islamist party's officials.
Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, 62, assistant secretary-general of the party, was found guilty on Monday of genocide and torture of unarmed civilians during the 1971 war to breakaway from Pakistan, by a special war crimes tribunal in May last year.
Under Bangladesh jail code, the execution of an accused could be carried out within 21 days and before 28 days of the Supreme Court's latest upholding of a death sentence on 3rd November,2014. .
"The jail authorities will start the process of his execution after getting the certified copy of the verdict," our correspondent said, adding that Kamaruzzaman can only file a review petition to "buy a little more time, or hope for presidential clemency, which is unlikely to be granted under the present government".  
 Assistant Secretary General Kamaruzzaman was sent to the gallows on seven counts of crimes against humanity including murder, genocide, torture and forced deportation.Image result for kamaruzzaman picis the senior assistant secretary general of the militant political party Bangladesh Jamayat-e-Islami convicted of war crimes during the 1971 Liberation war of Bangladesh.He is also the editor of the Militant organization Jamayat e Islam owned Weekly Sonar Bangla. 
 
In 1971, eight members of Jaritan’s family, including her husband and son, were gunned down. “They dragged my husband out of our house to the yard and shot him six times. When he wanted water, they shot him again and he breathed his last. They brought my treasure trove, my son Hashem, threw him on his father’s dead body and killed him as well. Then they stabbed my brother-in-law with a bayonet and eventually killed him shooting inside his mouth,” Jaritan thus described her dreadful experience 43 years back.
Jabeda Bewa, widow of another martyr Fazar Ali, said,“Kamaruzzaman, the leader of those who killed our men, has been sentenced to death. That is the least solace that we could have expected for our heavy hearts.”
Bewa is a title given to widows in some areas of Bangladesh.
Nure Maan Bewa, wife of martyr Jasimuddin, said: “The Pakistani soldiers did not know the area. Razakars and al-Badr members showed them the way. They are the ones who did the massacre, made us widows and killed our relatives. They told the Pakistan soldiers that there were freedom fighters in our village. Kamaruzzaman was their leader. The death sentence will give us blood for blood. We are happy.”
That infamous mass killing turned the Sohagpur village in Nalitabari of Sherpur “manless.” After that, just like uncountable other villages across the country, Sohagpur also came to be known as a “village of widows.”
These widows have all testified against Kamaruzzaman in the war crimes case.
Jalaluddin, son of 1971 martyr Safir Uddin said,  they were happy with the verdict and scared too. “Kamaruzzaman’s followers have been threatening us. They said they would teach us a good lesson when there is a change in power.”A total of 34 widows of Liberation War martyrs live in the village today. For most of them, the only sources of income are the meagre allowances from the government and a few private banks which by no stretch of imagination are reasonable.
On July 25, 1971, Pakistani soldiers ran a massacre in Sohagpur village on the Indian border – some 36km from Sherpur district town. On that day, they, along with their Razakar and al-Badr collaborators, killed at least 187 men in just six hours. They broke into people’s houses and brutally killed innocent peasants and labourers. Jamaat leader Kamaruzzaman, then a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami’s student front Islami Chhatra Sangha, was at the forefront.
Many people from greater Sherpur area testified as prosecution witness against Kamaruzzaman before the International Crimes Tribunal, which handed down death sentence to the war criminal in May last year. The Supreme Court yesterday upheld that verdict after hearing Kamaruzzaman’s appeal petition.
One of them was Manwar Hossain Khan alias Mohan Munshie. “I wanted to be a freedom fighter. But Kamaruzzaman forced said." me to become the security guard of a torture cell that he had set up in the house of Suren Babu.”  Another witness Mojibur Rahman Panu said: “In 1971, Kamaruzzaman and his men picked me up from my house and took me to the Ahmadnagar camp. There they lined up many people and opened fire on them. I survived miraculously.” Sohagpur widows  want execution of the verdict immediately!

Relief, as it was just rumour- Tamanna Khan


Sumi Khan
Sumi Khan   Even minutes before the court started proceedings yesterday, rumours hanged thick in the air about the possibility of lesser punishment for war criminal Mir Quasem Ali who had allegedly spent millions of US dollars to lobby against the International Crimes Tribunal.
This worried Sumi Khan, daughter of Saifuddin Khan, a freedom fighter who was abducted, confined and tortured in 1971 by the Chittagong unit of Al-Badr which was led by Quasem.
"Had my father been alive and testified as a witness, Quasem would definitely be hanged," she said. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she expressed her worry.
Saifuddin Khan was abducted from Aziz colony and confined at a torture cell of Dalim Hotel in Andarkilla of Chittagong by Al-Badr men where he along with others was savagely beaten and tortured under Quasem's leadership, according to the fourth charge against Quasem.
Although Saifuddin had been spared his life, the horrific memories of torture haunted him throughout his life.
Sumi recalled the horrific accounts she had heard from her father. "They did not even give us any water for 10 long days. Instead, they gave us urine to drink," she quoted her father as saying.
A special correspondent at the Bangla daily Dainik Janakantha, Sumi maintained professional composure throughout the proceedings, even when Quasem was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for abduction, confinement and torture of her father under the fourth charge.Tears however returned to Sumi's eyes when the tribunal chairman announced death penalty for Quasem under the 11th charge.
But this time she wept tears of peace and relief.
"My father always believed that someday these people who opposed the liberation of our country, and tortured and killed the freedom fighters, would be brought to justice," she said.
Her father's belief was shaken after Bangabandhu Shiekh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated in 1975 because he feared that the war criminals and collaborators would make a comeback to independent Bangladesh, said Sumi.
Saifuddin Khan who was a leader of a left-leaning political party and an organiser of the liberation war, used to shelter freedom fighters at his house in the port city.
Nur Jahan Khan, Sumi's mother, said Saifuddin along with other freedom fighters was picked up from their house at Aziz Colony by Al-Badr men.
"About 10-12 Al-Badr men came to our house. All were wearing monkey caps. They said they did not mean any harm but were looking for 'miscreants' trying to break Pakistan's unity," she told The Daily Star over the phone while describing how her husband had been abducted.
From Dalim Hotel, Khan was sent to the Chittagong Central jail on November 3 and was released from there after the independence.
"Father told me how Quasem and his men beat them [the freedom fighters] to make them utter the slogan 'Pakistan Jindabad'. But they spat at them instead," she said.
Saifuddin breathed his last on June 28, 2007.
"My father is no more but wherever he is, I am sure his soul can now rest in peace," Sumi said after the verdict yesterday.
"I want to thank Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for keeping her commitment in conducting the war criminals' trial," she said expressing her gratitude.
Published: 12:01 am Monday, November 03, 2014

Friday, October 31, 2014

Law Catches Up With the War Criminal Mir Quasem Ali

Al Badr Commander Mir Quasem Ali whose name became synonymous with genocide, rape, looting and arson in Chittagong during the liberation war in 1971, is an influential central leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI), being a member of its 15 member Central Executive Committee. He is the main brain behind JEI’s finances and played a crucial role in financially strengthening the organization after its rehabilitation by the former Bangladesh military ruler General Ziaur Rahman in 1976. 
Earlier, after the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, JEI and other militant Islamic organizations which had collaborated with the occupation forces of Pakistan were banned by the founding father of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Quasem Ali was arrested last June for his role in perpetrating crimes against humanity during the country's 1971 liberation war
Daily Naya Diganta that enjoys a circulation of around 3.2 million copies a day and Diganta TV which reaches out to 10 million Bangladeshi households globally, started running a sustained campaign against the ongoing war crimes trial in Bangladesh. Both Naya Diganta and Diganta TV form a part of Diganta Media Corporation owned by Mir Quasem Ali. During the liberation war and in the run up to the war Mir Quasem Ali was primarily known as an appendage to the occupying forces of Pakistan. He was arrested from Naya Diganta office within an hour and a half of the Tribunal issuing the order on June 17 last.
Mir Quasem Ali has wide international reach. He enjoys good equations with Saudi Arabia as Country Director of Saudi based and resource rich Rabeta-al-alam-al-Isalmi, the NGO that funds many ventures in Bangladesh. He is also associated with the Saudi funded Ibne Sina Charitable Trust and Hospital that provides free Medicare facilities to the poor across the country.
Openly defying restrictions imposed by the government on foreign visit by the JEI war crimes suspects, Mir Quasem Ali paid a high profile visit to Saudi Arabia in 2010, after formation of the war crimes tribunal, to seek Riyadh’s blessings and put pressure on Sheikh Hasina government to abandon war crimes trial. Saudi Arabia employs the largest number of Bangladeshi manpower and it turned out that during his visit he tried to convince the Saudi authorities to work as a pressure group. He gave a number of suggestions to them including stopping of recruitment of Bangladeshi manpower and termination of appointment of those already working there. He thought that such a situation would create turmoil in the country and compel the Bangladesh government to abandon the war crimes trial.
Mir Quasem Ali is a prominent fund raiser for the JEI and played a key role in strengthening its finances. He manages the party accounts maintained with Islami Bank Bangladesh. He has consolidated his place in the JEI hierarchy by extending funds to the Rohingya radical groups who had fought along with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
In 1971, Mir Quasem Ali was President of Chittagong District Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student front of JEI, that converted itself into the infamous Al Badr and carried out the most macabre killings and rape in the history of Bangladesh. On December 14, 1971, just two days before surrender of the occupying Pakistani forces, all leading intellectuals of the country were massacred en - masse by Al Badr in order to intellectually cripple the new nation. Mir Quasem Ali was one of the main architects of this massacre of intellectuals and professionals. Others who were in league with him in this mission included JEI chief Matiur Rahman Nizami and its Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid, both of whom are now facing trial on war crimes charges after being indicted by the tribunal.
At the beginning of the war Mir Quasem Ali was Al Badar Commander of Chittagong district. But soon, in consideration of his performance in inflicting large scale brutalities and torture on the freedom fighters and their sympathizers, he was elevated and made No 3 central Al Badar leader in the country. Then No 1 and 2 Al Badar leaders were Matiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid respectively.
Mahamaya Bhavan, located on Telegraph Road behind T&T Office, Chittagong, which was originally owned by a Hindu, was forcibly taken over by Mir Quasem Ali and named Dalim Hotel. This Dalim Hotel was converted into Al Badar torture camps where thousands of freedom fighters were forcibly kept huddled together and subjected to brutal torture. Many of them died there due to inhuman torture. Some of them were maimed for life. It was Mir Quasem Ali who called the shots from Dalim Hotel.
Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, well known freedom fighter and Deputy Editor of ‘The Peoples View’ brought out from Chittagong, was also taken to Dalim Hotel on December 3, 1971 by Mir Quasem Ali’s Al Badar associates and subjected to torture and repression. After being released, Chowdhury disclosed that freedom fighters used to be kept blind folded by the Al Badar before being meted out with severe torture and it was Mir Quasem Ali whose diktats held sway. Another well known freedom fighter and Ganatantri Party Chittagong District President Saifuddin Khan was kept in Dalim Hotel and similarly subjected to extreme torture from November 17 to December 16, 1971. A well known Razakar named Abul Kalam who had tortured Saifuddin at Dalim Hotel is now an established business man and proprietor of a number of business establishments in Chittagong including TK group. He is presently an important JEI leader. Saifuddin also told that Dalim Hotel witnessed killings of thousands of freedom fighters in 1971. After surrender of Pakistani forces on December 16, 1971, Dalim Hotel wore a deserted look as Al Badar and Razakar elements led by Mir Quasem Ali fled from there.

Mir Quasem Ali was the first President of JEI’s new student front Islami Chhatra Shibir when it was formed on February 6, 1977 by disbanding Islami Chhatra Sangha. Subsequently, he became Amir of Dhaka city JEI. Apart from being Director of Islami Bank Bangladesh, a bank floated from Saudi Arabia, he is also Country Director of Saudi based NGO Rabeta-al-Alam-al-Islami and Chairman of Saudi funded Ibne Sina Trust and Hospital that provides Medicare to the poor free of cost across the country.
Auxiliary forces like the Al Badr, Al Shams and Razakar actively engaged with the Pakistan Army to thwart the liberation war in 1971. Crimes against humanity including murder, massacre, rape and loot had taken place in Chittagong under Mir Quasem Ali’s orders and carried out under his watchful eyes during the war. There are also evidence that he ordered the massacre and murders of the intellectuals and freedom fighters at the Razakar camps.
Mir Quasem Ali, who is from Manikganj’s Harirampur, was known as ‘Mintu’ to the people of Chittagong during the war. He was part of the Islami Chhatra Sangha think tank that had prepared the list of the intellectuals to murder them at the fag end of war. The intellectuals were killed on December 14, 1971, only two days before the victory. After independence, Mir Quasem Ali fled to Saudi Arabia and returned only after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family was brutally massacred on Aug 15, 1975.
Recently, Mir Quasem Ali, along with his US based brother Mir Masum Ali, hired a top US lobby firm Cassidy and Associates and spent $310,000 to move the US administration favorably. The effectiveness of Cassidy and Associate’s lobbying could in part be gauged from the fact that the US Ambassador for war crimes at-large Stephen Rapp visited Bangladesh three times in a row in 2011 and gave a number of advises to Bangladesh government on how to ensure a fair trial. Rapp also said that the US administration might provide some assistance to the Bangladesh war crimes tribunal depending on how he and the Congress viewed the fairness of the trial process.
If the ongoing trials of war crimes are held impartially and brought to a logical end, the war crimes mastermind including former JEI chief Ghulam Azam, present JEI chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, its Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid, Mir Quasem Ali and the rest of those now facing trial would be convicted and the new generation will also be made aware of the gruesome consequences of the abuse of religion to justify killings and other heinous crimes.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Short biography of War Criminal Nizami

Courtesy :Dhaka Tribune


Motiur Rahman Nizami is the current chief of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. He is being held suspect while standing trial for war crimes in 1971 at the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh.
A  brief biography of Nizami:
March 31, 1943: Born Monmothpur village of Shathia upazilla in the district of Pabna.
Nizami received primary education in hisown village and then got admitted into Boalmari Madrasa.
1955: Passed Dakhil examination in firstdivision.
1959: He was placed in 16th position of the merit list with first division from Twaha Senior Madrasa of Shibpur, Pabna.
1960: Nizami rose in the ranks of East Pakistan branch of Jamaat-e-islami Pakistan, having led the student organisation,Islamic Chhatro Shango (ICS)(now IslamicChhatro Shibir).
1961: Passed Fazil exam from same institution securing a first division.
1963: Received his Kamil degree in Islamic Jurisprudence/Fiqh from Alia Madrasa of Dhaka.
1967: Completed his graduation.
1978: Was allowed to return to Bangladesh after being banned political participation by first president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.1991: Elected Member of the Parliament, representing Jamaat-e-islami constituency of Pabna 1.
2001: Took the helm of Jamaat-e-Islami. 2001-03: Served as Minister of Agriculture.
June 29, 2010: Arrested
December 11, 2011: Charges pressed May 2011: Shown arrested on allegations of smuggling armsto Assamese insurgents in India.
May 28,2011: Indicted in war crimes charges
January 9, 2012: Tribunal took cognisance of charges
November 13, 2013: Trial beings in war crimes case
On January 31: Gets death penalty for the 10-truck arms haul
March 2, 2014: Trial end
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami has been sentenced to death for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
Justice M Enayetur Rahim, chairman of the three-member International Crimes Tribunal 1, delivered the much-delayed verdict at 12:20pm on Wednesday.
Other members of the tribunal are Justice Jahangir Hossain and Justice Anwarul Haque.
Eight charges out of total 16, which include conspiracy, planning, complicity, incitement and active participation were proved, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 pronounced.
The tribunal 1 has handed down war criminal Nizami death penalty on the charges of 2, 4, 6 and 16 while the Jamaat leader has been given life sentence on the charges of 1, 3, 7 and 8.
Earlier in the day, Nizami was taken to the tribunal around 9:25am and later he was kept in the tribunal lock-up.
At 11:10am, Justice M Enayetur Rahim, started reading out the summary of 204-page verdict.
This is the 10th verdict by the two war crimes tribunals.
On Tuesday, the International Crimes Tribunal 1 fixed the date to pronounce its verdict on Wednesday.
Nizami had been shifted to Dhaka Central Jail from Kashimpur around 8:30pm on Tuesday and his physical condition was well, Jail Superintendent Forman Ali told the Dhaka Tribune.
Earlier, the verdict in the case against the Jamaat top leader was postponed twice. In the latest on June 24, the verdict was postponed due to Nizami's sickness.
Tight security measures have been taken in and around tribunal area as well as in the capital after announcement of the date.
An adequate number of uniformed and plainclothes police personnel have been kept deployed elsewhere in the capital to avert any untoward incident centring the verdict.
The trial against Nizami began on May 28, 2012.
He was arrested on July 29, 2010 on charges of hurting religious sentiments. After three days, he was shown arrested in a war crimes case.
On December 11, 2012, the prosecution brought 16 charges of crimes against humanity including conspiracy, planning, complicity, incitement and active participation against the Jamaat leader.
The charges against him included killing of 70 people and torching 72 houses in December 1971 at Brishalika village in Pabna’s Bera upazila; murdering 450 people in Demra and Baushia villages; killing of several people in front of a Hindu temple at Kormocha village of Santhia upazila as well as looting, rape and abduction.
As the head of East-Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student wing of Jamaat, he led al-Badr group – a para militia force blamed for the systematic abduction and killing of intellectuals – until September, 1971.
Witness deposition in Nizmai’s case began in August, 2012 and ended in October last year with the testimony of Investigating Officer Abdur Razzak Khan, the 26th prosecution witness.
The defence produced four witnesses including son of the accused Md Nazibur Rahman.
Trial of the case ended in last November and the tribunal kept it for verdict.
But due to the retirement of the then tribunal chairman on December 31 before delivering the judgement, it was delayed by several more months.
In February, Justice Rahim was appointed and the two tribunals shuffled. The judge ordered fresh arguments in the case.
On March 24, the tribunal kept the case pending for verdict again and later fixed June 24 for delivering the judgement.
But only hours before the verdict, the jail authorities claimed that they could not place the accused as he had fallen sick.
The tribunal stopped pronouncing the verdict and ordered the authorities concerned to inform it about the physical condition of Nizami.
Even though the jail authorities within one week confirmed that Nizami’s physical condition was stable, it took the tribunal several months to set the latest date.
On January 30, Chittagong Metropolitan Special Tribunal gave death penalty to 14 convicts, including Nizami, under the Special Powers Act 1974 in a smuggling case.
Jamaat chief Nizami became member of the cabinet of the BNP-led alliance’s role in 2001-06.
Meanwhile, the war crimes tribunals have already given punishment to five top Jamaat leaders.
Moreover, three other top leaders are being tried in the tribunals.
War convict Nizami was born on March 31, 1943, at Monmothpur village of Shanthia upazila in the district of Pabna.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Crime against Humanity by Jamat fund riser Al-Badr Commander Mir Quasem Ali

Al Badr Commander Mir Quasem Ali whose name became synonymous with genocide, rape, looting and arson in Chittagong during the liberation war in 1971, is an influential central leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI), being a member of its 15 member Central Executive Committee. He is the main brain behind JEI’s finances and played a crucial role in financially strengthening the organization after its rehabilitation by the former Bangladesh military ruler General Ziaur Rahman in 1976. 

Earlier, after the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, JEI and other militant Islamic organizations which had collaborated with the occupation forces of Pakistan were banned by the founding father of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Quasem Ali was arrested last June for his role in perpetrating crimes against humanity during the country's 1971 liberation war.

Daily Naya Diganta that enjoys a circulation of around 3.2 million copies a day and Diganta TV which reaches out to 10 million Bangladeshi households globally, started running a sustained campaign against the ongoing war crimes trial in Bangladesh.
Both Naya Diganta and Diganta TV form a part of Diganta Media Corporation owned by Mir Quasem Ali.

During the liberation war and in the run up to the war Mir Quasem Ali was primarily known as an appendage to the occupying forces of Pakistan. He was arrested from Naya Diganta office within an hour and a half of the Tribunal issuing the order on June 17 last.

Mir Quasem Ali has wide international reach. He enjoys good equations with Saudi Arabia as Country Director of Saudi based and resource rich Rabeta-al-alam-al-Isalmi, the NGO that funds many ventures in Bangladesh. He is also associated with the Saudi funded Ibne Sina Charitable Trust and Hospital that provides free Medicare facilities to the poor across the country.

Openly defying restrictions imposed by the government on foreign visit by the JEI war crimes suspects, Mir Quasem Ali paid a high profile visit to Saudi Arabia in 2010, after formation of the war crimes tribunal, to seek Riyadh’s blessings and put pressure on Sheikh Hasina government to abandon war crimes trial. Saudi Arabia employs the largest number of Bangladeshi manpower and it turned out that during his visit he tried to convince the Saudi authorities to work as a pressure group. He gave a number of suggestions to them including stopping of recruitment of Bangladeshi manpower and termination of appointment of those already working there. He thought that such a situation would create turmoil in the country and compel the Bangladesh government to abandon the war crimes trial.

Mir Quasem Ali is a prominent fund raiser for the JEI and played a key role in strengthening its finances. He manages the party accounts maintained with Islami Bank Bangladesh. He has consolidated his place in the JEI hierarchy by extending funds to the Rohingya radical groups who had fought along with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

In 1971, Mir Quasem Ali was President of Chittagong District Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student front of JEI, that converted itself into the infamous Al Badr and carried out the most macabre killings and rape in the history of Bangladesh. On December 14, 1971, just two days before surrender of the occupying Pakistani forces, all leading intellectuals of the country were massacred en - masse by Al Badr in order to intellectually cripple the new nation. Mir Quasem Ali was one of the main architects of this massacre of intellectuals and professionals. Others who were in league with him in this mission included JEI chief Matiur Rahman Nizami and its Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid, both of whom are now facing trial on war crimes charges after being indicted by the tribunal.

At the beginning of the war Mir Quasem Ali was Al Badar Commander of Chittagong district. But soon, in consideration of his performance in inflicting large scale brutalities and torture on the freedom fighters and their sympathizers, he was elevated and made No 3 central Al Badar leader in the country. Then No 1 and 2 Al Badar leaders were Matiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid respectively.
Mahamaya Bhavan, located on Telegraph Road behind T&T Office, Chittagong, which was originally owned by a Hindu, was forcibly taken over by Mir Quasem Ali and named Dalim Hotel. This Dalim Hotel was converted into Al Badar torture camps where thousands of freedom fighters were forcibly kept huddled together and subjected to brutal torture. Many of them died there due to inhuman torture. Some of them were maimed for life. It was Mir Quasem Ali who called the shots from Dalim Hotel.
Saifuddin Khan, victim of extreme torture 


Language movement activist ,well known freedom fighter and Ganatantri Party Chittagong District President Saifuddin Khan was kept in Dalim Hotel and similarly subjected to extreme torture from November 17 to December 16, 1971. A well known Razakar named Abul Kalam who had tortured Saifuddin at Dalim Hotel is now an established business man and proprietor of a number of business establishments in Chittagong including TK group. He is presently an important JEI leader. Saifuddin also told that Dalim Hotel witnessed killings of thousands of freedom fighters in 1971. After surrender of Pakistani forces on December 16, 1971, Dalim Hotel wore a deserted look as Al Badar and Razakar elements led by Mir Quasem Ali fled from there.

Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, well known freedom fighter and Deputy Editor of ‘The Peoples View’ brought out from Chittagong, was also taken to Dalim Hotel on December 3, 1971 by Mir Quasem Ali’s Al Badar associates and subjected to torture and repression. After being released, Chowdhury disclosed that freedom fighters used to be kept blind folded by the Al Badar before being meted out with severe torture and it was Mir Quasem Ali whose diktats held sway.  

Mir Quasem Ali was the first President of JEI’s new student front Islami Chhatra Shibir when it was formed on February 6, 1977 by disbanding Islami Chhatra Sangha. Subsequently, he became Amir of Dhaka city JEI. Apart from being Director of Islami Bank Bangladesh, a bank floated from Saudi Arabia, he is also Country Director of Saudi based NGO Rabeta-al-Alam-al-Islami and Chairman of Saudi funded Ibne Sina Trust and Hospital that provides Medicare to the poor free of cost across the country.

Auxiliary forces like the Al Badr, Al Shams and Razakar actively engaged with the Pakistan Army to thwart the liberation war in 1971. Crimes against humanity including murder, massacre, rape and loot had taken place in Chittagong under Mir Quasem Ali’s orders and carried out under his watchful eyes during the war. There are also evidence that he ordered the massacre and murders of the intellectuals and freedom fighters at the Razakar camps.

Mir Quasem Ali, who is from Manikganj’s Harirampur, was known as ‘Mintu’ to the people of Chittagong during the war. He was part of the Islami Chhatra Sangha think tank that had prepared the list of the intellectuals to murder them at the fag end of war. The intellectuals were killed on December 14, 1971, only two days before the victory. After independence, Mir Quasem Ali fled to Saudi Arabia and returned only after Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family was brutally massacred on Aug 15, 1975.

Recently, Mir Quasem Ali, along with his US based brother Mir Masum Ali, hired a top US lobby firm Cassidy and Associates and spent $310,000 to move the US administration favorably. The effectiveness of Cassidy and Associate’s lobbying could in part be gauged from the fact that the US Ambassador for war crimes at-large Stephen Rapp visited Bangladesh three times in a row in 2011 and gave a number of advises to Bangladesh government on how to ensure a fair trial. Rapp also said that the US administration might provide some assistance to the Bangladesh war crimes tribunal depending on how he and the Congress viewed the fairness of the trial process.

If the ongoing trials of war crimes are held impartially and brought to a logical end, the war crimes mastermind including former JEI chief Ghulam Azam, present JEI chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, its Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid, Mir Quasem Ali and the rest of those now facing trial would be convicted and the new generation will also be made aware of the gruesome consequences of the abuse of religion to justify killings and other heinous crimes.
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