A tribunal trying Bangladesh’s war crimes suspects has postponed the verdict in a high-profile case against Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Motiur Rahman Nizami, due to his sudden illness.
Justice Enayetur Rahim, Chairman of the International Crimes Tribunal-1(ICT-1), which was scheduled to deliver the long awaited verdict on Tuesday, said it was not logical to pronounce the judgment in the absence of the accused.
The tribunal also ordered the jail authorities to submit a full report on Nizami’s health condition as soon as possible.
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Dhaka Central Jail authorities earlier informed the tribunal that the 71-year old Nizami fell ill on Monday night.
“His blood pressure rose, he was given medication.” senior Jail Superintendant Farman Ali said.
The former minister during prime minister Khaleda Zia’s last BNP-Jamaat coalition government was shifted to Dhaka Central Jail from Kashimpur Jail on Tuesday morning to be produced in court.
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Nizami, the chief of the dreaded AL-Bard killer gang, is facing 16 charges including looting, killing, rape, arson, torture and confinement of people during the Liberation War in 1971.
He has already been awarded the death penalty in the 10-truck arms haul case this year.
Hundreds of people, mainly from the pro-trial social and cultural organisations, crowded the court premises demanding “death” to the country’s top war crimes suspect.
Some of them said the postponement was a “conspiracy” to delay the judgment.