Life sentence against Abdul Quader Mollah is on the basis of hearsay

None of the witnesses who testified against Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary-General Abdul Quader Mollah in favour of the prosecution is an eyewitness. All of the witnesses against him just said We heard and none witnessed him committing any offence. About 50 thousand cases were filed against anti-liberationists but not a single case or a general diary (GD) was filed against Quader Mollah for the last 40 years including during the reign of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He completed his Masters degree from Dhaka University in 1973. From 1972-75, he studied in Dhaka University and after graduation taught at Udayan School, a prestigious academic institute inside the campus of Dhaka University, adjacent to Jagannath Hall and Salimullah Hall (SM Hall) of the university. If he had killed so many men, he would not have been able to escape from peoples rage and would eventually have been killed as was the fate of most who committed war crimes during the liberation war.

Witnesss dissimilarity proves that there is no legal base of verdict

Abdul Quader Mollah is a renowned politician and well known personality who has been involved in numerous social institutes and activities in Bangladesh. He was born 14th August, 1948 in Faridpur. Currently he is the Assistant Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. He was elected as the Vice President of Dhaka Journalists Union for two consecutive terms in 1982 and 1983. On 13th July, 2010 he was arrested from the Supreme Court premise without any charge or warrant against him. He remained in prison until December 2011, for nearly one and half year, without any specific charges against him. In context of the imprisonment without charges, The UN Working Group of Arbitrary Detention and other national and international organizations requested Bangladesh government to release him. Abdul Quader Mollah was never involved in any sort of crime against humanity during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. He stayed in his village during the war and returned to his academic institute Dhaka University in 1972 following the war and restarted his academia staying at Shahidullah Hall as a residential student. Later he completed his Masters from the Institution of Education and Research securing First Class First position. After the independence of Bangladesh, the government enacted the Collaborators Act to try the personnel involved in aiding and abetting the Pakistani forces in committing war crimes. At least 37 thousand native Bangladeshi people were accused under that act. As Abdul Quader Mollah was not involved in any kind of such activities, not a single General Diary (GD) was filed against him. During 1974-75, he was teacher of Udayan School, a prestigious academic institute inside the campus of Dhaka University, adjacent to Jagannath Hall and Salimullah Hall (SM Hall) of the university. During 1977, he was appointed as a Senior Teacher at Bangladesh Rifles Public School and College. If Abdul Quader Mollah was involved in any crime against humanity or in war crimes, how could he then be allowed to stay in Dhaka University and conduct job at the heart of the campus while all the collaborators and abettors of Pakistani forces were on their toe during the turbulent days of 70s? Only to materialize political vendetta and as per the plan of eliminating political dissidents, the allegations of crimes against humanity are brought against the Jamaat leader.

The 6 charges and judgment against Abdul Quader Mollah

Charge One The first charge brought against Abdul Quader Mollah is of killing Pallab, a freedom fighter. Witness #2 of the prosecution Shahidul Haque Mama gave statement at the tribunal. In the statement, Shahidul Haque Mama claimed he heard a group of people seized Pallab from Thataribazar in the capital and brought him to Mirpur. Later Quader Mollah ordered to kill Pallab. When Shahidul Haque Mama was asked from whom he had heard that incident, his reply was, I have heard it from the people of Mirpur. Shahidul Haque Mama, also described the incidents of the charges onn Bangladesh Television (BTV) broadcast documentary Ronangoner Dinguli (Days of the Battlefield). In his description in the government run television, Shahidul Haque Mama never mentioned the name of Abdul Quader Mollah. Another witness of the prosecution Syed Abdul Qaium said at the tribunal that he has heard that Pallab was killed as Quader Mollah ordered to kill Pallab. But the prosecution witness couldnt say a single name from whom he has heard that Quader Mollah either ordered to kill Pallab or in charge of commissioning the killing. Most amazingly, the prosecution witness and only witness of Pallabs killing, daughterin-law of Pallab, Shahera gave statement in favour of Quader Mollah. She said the family members have never heard of Quader Mollah in connection to Pallabs killing. Ignoring the stark anomalies and lack of evidences, the tribunal ordered Abdul Quader Mollah 15 years imprisonment for complicity in commission of Pallab killing. Charge Two In this charge, Abdul Quader Mollah is accused of killing poet Meherunnesa. Prosecution witness #2 Shahidul Haque Mama, Prosecution witness #4 Poet Kazi Rozi, and prosecution witness #10 Syed Abdul Qaium also gave statement against Abdul Quader Mollah in the second charge. None of the witnesses had seen the incident and no witness was able to give the name of a person from whom they have heard the incident of killing of Poet Meherunnesa. Second witness of the prosecution Shahidul Haque Mama had heard that poet Meherunnesa had been killed upon the order of Abdul Quader Mollah. But he couldnt tell the tribunal from whom he has heard the incident. Poet Kazi Rozi has told the Tribunal that Poet Meherunnesa was killed by a group of Biharis upon the order of Quader Mollah. However, she didnt hear whether Quader Mollah had killed poet Meherunnesa. During June of 2011, poet Kazi Rozi published a book titled Shahid Kabi

Meherunnesa. She has written in detail description of killing of poet Meherunnesa. But name of Abdul Quader Molla is found nowhere in her book let alone as killer of poet Meherunnesa. Prosecution witness Syed Abdul Qaium told the tribunal that Biharis had killed poet Meherunnesa. The prosecution witness also didnt mention the name of Quader Mollah in connection to the killing of poet Meherunnesa. The prosecution failed to prove the charges against Abdul Quader Mollah, but the tribunal ordered 15 years of imprisonment for this charge. Charge Three The third charge against Abdul Quader Mollah has been of killing intellectual and journalist Khandakar Abu Taleb. Prosecution witness #5 Khandakar Abul Ahsan and Prosecution witness #10 Syed Abdul Qaium gave statement against Abdul Quader Mollah. Similar to the first two charges, both of these two witnesses have told the tribunal that they had heard of the incident and none of them were able to give specifics of the involvement of Quader Mollah in that killing. The defense counsel submitted the biographies and recorded interviews of the family members and other documents of the martyrs. In the recorded evidences it is found that poet Kazi Rozi had mentioned Bihari Halim as the killer of Khandakar Abu Taleb. In the Tribunal Poet Kazi Rozi was asked why she didnt mention the name of Abdul Quader Mollah as the killer of Khandakar Abu Taleb. Poet Kazi Rozi replied that she didnt mention the name out of fear. Abdul Quader Mollah was arrested in July 2010 and Kazi Rozi had published her book in 2011. The defense asked poet Kazi Rozi how could a person staying inside jail may threaten her while the trial of crimes against humanity was going on. The defense also asked about the rationality of threatening a witness by an accused of committing crimes against humanity. But poet Kazi Rozi could not answer any of those questions. However, on the basis of the witnesses who have heard the incident, the Tribunal handed down 15 years imprisonment to Abdul Quader Mollah. Charge Five In this charge, Abdul Quader Mollah is accused of carrying mass killing at Alobdi village. Prosecution witness #6 Shafiuddin Mollah and Prosecution witness #9 Ameer Hossen Mollah gave statement against Abdul Quader Mollah. Prosecution witness Shafiuddin Mollah claimed their whole family left for Sarulia village of Savar out of fear of their lives. Instead of going with the family members, he stayed behind a bush and noticed Abdul Quader Mollah firing on the people. But his younger brother Altaf Hossen Mollah confirmed to the Tribunal that all members of their family went to Sarulia village and his elder brother Sahfiuddin Mollah was with them. So there was no

chance of witnessing the scene staying behind bushes and his statement was totally false. Another prosecution witness Ameer Hossen Mollah is a notorious terrorist of Mirpur area. Locally he is known as Laat Bhai (gang leader). On 13th December of 2001, law enforcers arrested him with illegal arms. Recently on May 15th, 2002, he has served time in jail being convicted of illegally occupying the land of a sitting judge of the High Court. This same person filed a case at Pallabi police station on January 25, 2008 alleging that he watched Nizami, Mujahid and Quader Mollah attacking Alobdi village. He claimed in the case filing that he took shelter in a pond at Duaripara, at least four miles away from Alobdi village, and watched the accused leading the attack. However, on August 26, 2012 he told the Tribunal that he was at Alobdi village during the time of attack and he watched Quader Mollah firing on the people. These witness statements proves how anomalous the statements are and proves the illmotivation behind the filed charges. But the Tribunal has ordered life time imprisonment of Abdul Quader Mollah accepting these statements. Charge Six Abdul Quader Mollah is accused of killing Hazrat Ali Laskar and his family members in this charge. The only witness of the charge is Momena Begum, prosecution witness#3. She told the tribunal that she heard from some Kamal and Akkas Mollah that Abdul Quader Mollah had killed her father. This witness gave statement about the killing of her father and rape of the family members to the Liberation War Museum during 2007. In her description to the Liberation War Museum, she narrated that she had left for her in-laws house two days before the day of the killing. As she was in her in-laws house, she remained alive. However, at the tribunal, Momena Begum claimed she was present at the scene. Acknowledging the only statement, the Tribunal handed down life time imprisonment to Abdul Quader Mollah. Where was Abdul Quader Mollah during the war? The witnesses of Abdul Quader Mollah gave statement to the Tribunal that during the war, Quader Mollah stayed at Sadarpur village of Faridpur. Defense witness #2, Shushil Chandra Mondal, told the Tribunal that since the war of liberation until November of 1972, Abdul Quader Mollah stayed at the house of Dhola Mia Peer Saheb (an elderly respected religious person). Shushil Chandra also confirmed that Abdul Quader Mollah used to teach children of Dhola Mia. Defense witness #3, Moslem Uddin Ahmed, who was the principal of a school in Faridpur, told the Tribunal that Abdul Quader Mollah stayed at the house of Dhola Mia Peer Saheb at Sadarpur of Faridpur

and used to teach the children of the family. Defense witness #6 Hafez A I M Lokman, who was the Imam (head of the Islamic Prayer in a Mosque) of Shahidull Hall Mosque of Dhaka University, told the Tribunal that he saw Abdul Quader Mollah leaving the Hall following 7th of March of 1971. He also informed the Tribunal that Abdul Quader Mollah returned to the Hall late 1972. These entire proceedings show that the verdict against Abdul Quader Mollah was preplanned and well sketched. Keep true to the Skype scandal conversation, the Tribunal started the case against Bacchu Razakar (Abul Kalam Azad) from 25th of November of 2012. Later on 21st January 2013, verdict was declared against Abul Kalam Azad. In the same planned flow, verdict was declared against Abdul Quader Mollah on 5th February. Home Minister of Awami League government Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir even confirmed the verdict date against Abdul Quader Mollah at a program while visiting Egypt. This flow of events shows that the verdict has been declared in line with the governments direction. It is now clearly revealed that the Tribunal have declared the verdict accepting the ill-sketched statements of the prosecution witnesses and rejecting the statements of defense witnesses to materialize the governments planned verdict. The people now find the verdict as perverse, false, controversial and debated. They believe the verdict must be cancelled and Abdul Quader Mollah should be freed from prison.