A Bangladeshi court set up to try people accused of war crimes during the 1971 battle for independence from Pakistan was adjourned on Thursday, delaying the outlining of the first charges.
The Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal, which was established last year by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would hear cases of alleged collaborators who were accused of crimes ranging from mass killings to rape. Delwar Hossain Sayedee, a senior official of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), was due to be charged on Thursday but Judge Nizamul Huq adjourned the hearing after defence lawyers pleaded for a delay.
“The defence councils are not prepared yet for the hearing because they do not have enough time to consult the accused,” Huq said, adding that the next hearing would be held on August 23. Sayedee, 71, has been accused of killing more than 50 people, torching villages, rape, looting and forcibly converting Hindus to Islam. “We have not been provided with sufficient time,” said Sayedee’s British lawyer Toby Cadman, who was not present at the hearing after being denied a visa to enter Bangladesh. “It is a very difficult environment to operate,” he told AFP before Thursday’s adjournment. “How can one expect a proper defence to the charges if fundamental rights are systematically withdrawn or denied?”
