DHAKA: International Crimes Tribunal-2 will pronounce any day the verdict of Jamaat Leader Mir Kashem Ali, for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during liberation war as arguments of both sides completed Sunday.

The Tribunal kept the judgment on CAV (curia advisari vult, a Latin legal term meaning court awaits verdict).

Mir Kashem Ali’s lawyer Barrister Tanvir Ahmed Al Amin placed argument on legal points and later Prosecutor Barrister Turin Afroj replied the defense points and placed concluding arguments. 

The defense placed their arguments on factual ground and legal point on 12 charges out of 14 brought against him.

On May 16, State prosecutor Advocate Jeyad Al Malum submitted the formal charge with 14 allegations including murder, abduction, torture, arson, looting and body dumping at International Crimes Tribunal Registrar office.

On May 26, the tribunal took charge brought against him into cognizance and framed charged against him on September 5 last year.

As per formal allegations, Mir Kashem Ali was commander of Al-Badr (a group which assisted then Pakistani occupation army) of Chittagong town during the Liberation War in 1971. Al Badr, Al-Shams and Razakar forces led-by Kashem conducted killing there.

Amongst the allegations, Pakistani army personnel and their local collaborators including Mir Kashem set up the torture cell at Dalim Hotel on Nazir Ahmed Chowdhury lane and killing in Asadnagar and Panchlaish areas of the port city.

Prosecution sources said a total of 1, 635-page documents was submitted including 92-page formal charges and 83-page statement of witnesses.

Besides, the prosecution also submitted two Compact Disk (CDs), a DVD and a video CD with different evidence in support of the allegations against the Jamaat leader.

BDST: 1416 HRS, MAY 04, 2014