Verdict on SQ Chy war crimes judgment leak deferred

A Dhaka court has deferred till August 28 its judgment in the case filed for allegedly leaking the draft verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that sentenced war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to death.

Judge of the Dhaka Cyber Crime Tribunal KM Samsul Alam fixed the new date on Sunday citing his inability to complete the writing of the judgment as the reason.

Earlier on August 4, Judge of the tribunal KM Samsul Alam fixed today (August 14) for the delivering the judgment after completion of placing arguments in the case.

The accused in the case are Salauddin Quader’s wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury, his son Humman Quader Chowdhury, his manager Mahbubul Ahsan, lawyer AKM Fakhrul Islam, two staff of the ICT-1 Nayan Ali and Faruq Hossain and Fakhrul’s associate lawyer Mehedi Hasan.

The court also sent four accused--Fakhrul, Faruq, Nayan and Mahbubul--to jail when they appeared before the court.

Besides, the court granted bail to Salauddin Quader's wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury till August 14.

Another accused lawyer Fakhrul's associate Advocate Mehedi Hasan remained absconding.

On February 15, a Dhaka court framed charges against seven people, including wife, a son and a counsel of executed war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, in the case.

DB inspector M Shajahan submitted a charge sheet with the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court against the seven accused on August 28, 2014.

On October 1, 2013, ICT-1 sentenced BNP standing committee member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to death after finding him guilty of committing crimes against humanity and genocide during the Liberation War in 1971.

However, some parts of the draft verdict were found posted in the internet several hours before pronouncing the verdict.

Later, showing the copy of the draft verdict, Salauddin's wife and son raised a complaint that the verdict was originated from the Law Ministry.

On October 4, a case was filed with Shahabagh Police Station under sections 57 and 63 of Information and Communication Technology Act.

Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, also a BNP leader, was executed in the Dhaka Central Jail on November 22, 2015 for his crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 War of Liberation.

With inputs from UNB