A courtroom outburst by Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam at the International Crimes Tribunal has drawn stark criticism from British investigative journalist David Bergman, who pointed out that threats made against a defence lawyer have no place in a court of law.
The lawyer for sacked army officer Ziaul Ahsan, Advocate Nazneen Nahar, on Sunday levelled a serious allegationagainst Nabila Idris, a member of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.
During an interrogation, Idris reportedly threatened Ziaul by saying, “If you do not answer, your daughter will become an orphan.” Bergman contends the Tribunal should ask to see the video of the interrogation to determine the truth of this claim.
During the hearing, Tajul Islam himself told the defence lawyer, “You stay silent. Do not talk. You can also be an accused. We are getting allegations against you from different places.”
Bergman identified this as a threat that has no place in court, noting a slight echo of how ICT prosecutors in 2013 threatened Abdur Razzak, the lawyer for Jamaat-e-Islami, with prosecution, forcing him to leave the country.
Tajul Islam also claimed that Ziaul Ahsan was involved in the “killings of around 1,000 people” and that he “dumped bodies in the Buriganga after cutting open their abdomens.”
Although the Tribunal Chair Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder tried to step in during the interaction, Bergman argued that Mozumder should be much more trenchant in stopping such allegations and is far too accommodating of the chief prosecutor.
The British journalist also noted that it is ICT practice not to allow a defence lawyer to be present during interrogations, but only to allow lawyers to watch from an adjoining room.
Sacked army officer Ziaul Ahsan, who is under trial in a forced disappearance case, on Sunday applied to the International Crimes Tribunal to appoint a foreign lawyer to represent him.
Ziaul, former director general of National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC), was arrested on 14 August 2024 based on a tip off in a case filed with New Market Police Station. He was relieved of his post on 6 August last year.
