Chief Prosecutor's statement misrepresented: Chief Prosecutor's Office

The statement of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal Advocate Tajul Islam over the incidents of deaths of more than one thousand people in shootings during the July-August Mass Uprising has been misrepresented in the media outlets.

In this regard, a protest and statement signed by Md Masud Rana, the administrative officer of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of the International Crimes Tribunal, has been issued on Tuesday.

Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam shared the statement on his Facebook account.

The statement said, 'Recently, some media outlets in Bangladesh have misrepresented the statement of Advocate Tajul Islam, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Court. They said that the Chief Prosecutor commented that no ‘mass killings’ or ‘massacres’ were occurred in July.’

It also said, ‘‘The Chief Prosecutor himself clearly stated that in July, widespread and systematic killings or mass murders took place in Bangladesh, which is commonly called ‘Gonohotya’ in Bengali. But according to international law, genocide means ethnic cleansing. However, he did not term the incidents with ‘genocide’ (or ethnic cleansing). Rather, he termed it as a ‘crime against humanity’ which includes ‘widespread and systematic killings’ or ‘mass murders’.’’

The protest and statement by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office has requested all to refrain from reporting news without knowing the proper meaning of the law or interpreting it incorrectly.