War crimes witnesses to get safety: Qamrul
The government will protect the witnesses to war crimes committed during the liberation war in 1971, State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam said yesterday.
"We will take every steps necessary, including formulating law, to ensure security to the witnesses of war crimes, as the accused criminals are organised now and trying to foil the trial by threatening the witnesses," he said.
"We are preparing the draft of witness protection law which might be placed in the parliament in the next session."
"We have to ensure that those who were victim of sexual violence during the liberation war do not fall victim to social harassment, and the government will ensure that," he added.
The state minister said these to reporters after attending the inaugural session of a roundtable on "Accountability of sexual violence of 1971 and Bangladesh trial" at Cirdap auditorium in the city yesterday.
The roundtable was jointly organised by Liberation War Museum and Allard K Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic of Yale Law School, USA.
Qamrul said the war crimes trial in the country would be up to the international standards, and it would not be a camera trial.
The government must ensure justice to the victims of sexual violence and ensure that they can speak in the court without hesitation, said Mofidul Haque, trustee of Liberation War Museum.
Chief Prosecutor of International Crimes Tribunal, Golam Arif Tipu, said they are giving the safety of the witnesses of sexual violence to women top priority.
Currently five top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and two BNP leaders are behind the bars, who face charges of crimes against humanity in 1971.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments