Ex-MP Shakhawat linked to rape

A prosecution witness yesterday testified that former Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP lawmaker Shakhawat Hossain raped his fiancée for three days, keeping her confined to a Razakar camp in Jessore, during the Liberation War in 1971.

The retired schoolteacher, of Rejakathi village in the district's Keshabpur upazila, told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that his fiancée wanted to commit suicide after the incident but he stopped her and married her after the war.

"I want justice," the 10th prosecution witness in the case against Shakhawat and eight other Jessore men made the plea as he completed his testimony, with Shakhawat at dock.

Meanwhile, the prosecution yesterday pressed 12 specific charges against 19 Cox's Bazar men, including a former BNP lawmaker, who allegedly committed crimes during the war.

The charges include genocide and crimes against humanity committed in Maheshkhali upazila mainly between May 1 and 6 in 1971.

"A total of 19 people have been charged in the case. This is the highest number of accused ever in any case related to wartime offences," Prosecutor Rana Dasgupta told The Daily Star yesterday.

JESSORE

Apart from Shakhawat, the other accused are Billal Hossain Biswas, Ibrahim Hossain, Sheikh Md Mujibur Rahman, Kazi Ohidul Islam, Aziz Sardar, Aziz Sardar (2), Lutfar Morol and Abdul Khaleq Morol.

The nine face five charges. Of them, Shakhawat, Billal and Lutfar are now in jail and the rest on the run.

The witness said he was an assistant teacher of Teghari Polli Mangal High School in Keshabpur and got engaged with an SCC examinee of Baga village in February 1971 and supposed to marry her in late March that year.

But he joined Muktibahini as the war broke out in late March and fought several battles in Nehalpur, Sagardari, Sheikhpora villages in the upazila in October, he said.

During the war, his fiancée used to supply information about Razakars to him and his co-fighter.

The witness said through their sources he learnt that accused Shakhawat, Billal, Ibrahim, Aziz and Aziz (2) along with 10 to 12 Razakars abducted his fiancée on 27th of Bangla month Ashwin and took her to Chingra Razakar camp.

Shakhawat had tortured and raped her for three days before releasing her following a negotiation between Shakhawat and her relatives and neighbours, said the witness.

Two days after her release, when he met his fiancée, she told him that she would commit suicide as she failed to protect her chastity, the witness said.

"Then I promised her that I would surely marry her after the country's independence," he said. "Please don't take poison," he requested her. He married her on January 22, 1972.

In November 1972, the then government gave her a job at Jessore Anath Shishu Sadan O Dustha Mahila Punarbasan Kendra (orphanage and poor women rehabilitation centre) as a rape victim, said the witness, adding that her wife died in September 2006.

The three-member tribunal led by Justice Anwarul Haque adjourned the case proceeding until today after defence counsels completed his cross-examination.

COX'S BAZAR

The prosecution submitted the formal charges against the 19 men, statements of the witnesses and other documents to the tribunal and the tribunal fixed March 23 to decide whether it will accept the charges.

The accused were mainly involved with Muslim League and Nezam-e-Islami, two anti-liberation political parties, in 1971. They joined Peace Committee, Razakar and Al-Badr. One of the accused was the officer-in-charge of Maheshkhali Police Station during the war, according to the investigation agency and prosecution.

Most of them are now involved with BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, they said.

The accused are Salamat Ullah Khan, Moulavi Zakaria Sikdar, Md Rashid Miah, Oli Ahmad, Jalal Uddin alias Jalal Ahmed, Moulavi Nurul Islam, Md Saiful alias Sabul, Momtaz Ahmed, Habibur Rahman alias Habib Munshi, Moulavi Amjad Ali, Abdul Majid, Badsha Mia, Osman Gani, Abdus Shukkur, Md Zakaria, Moulavi Jalal, Abdul Aziz, Ramiz Hasan and Samsul Haque.

Of the 19, Salamat, Nurul Islam, Badsha and Osman Gani are in jail, while Rashid Miah, former BNP lawmaker from Cox's Bazar, is on bail for illness. The rest are on the run.

Meanwhile, the defence yesterday sought bail for accused Osman Gani, citing mainly his health conditions. The tribunal fixed March 23 to pass an order on the bail petition.