Bangladesh Islamist leaders denied bail, told to surrender

DHAKA - The Dhaka High Court has rejected the bail pleas of five Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leaders, including its chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, in two cases filed against them for hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims. They were also directed to surrender before the trial court within nine weeks.

Nizami and four others face trial for allegedly seeking to compare Nizami with Prophet Muhammad.

A criminal case was filed at a Dhaka court in March against five JeI leaders, including Nizami and secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed.

According to the complaint, Dhaka city JeI chief Rafiqul Islam Khan at a discussion in Dhaka March 17 compared Nizami to Prophet Muhammad, which hurt the Muslims. The three other accused are Nayebe Ameer (the group’s deputy chief) Delwar Hossain Sayedee, Rafiqul Islam Khan and city president of Islami Chhatra Shibir A.S.M. Yahia.

Besides, court in Lalmonirhat in northern Bangladesh had also issued summons in March to Nizami and three of his party leaders to appear before it May 25 in a case filed on a similar charge.

Syed Rejaul Haque Chandpuri, secretary general of Bangladesh Tarikat Federation, filed the case at a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Dhaka against five JeI leaders.

The court ruling came Sunday as investigators aiding a government-appointed tribunal prepared for holding “war crimes” trial of those who attacked unarmed civilians in the run up to the 1971 freedom movement.

Nizami, then head of the party’s student wing, is one of the prominent accused.

The investigators of war crimes Sunday received a list of 1,775 alleged war criminals and accounts of their role during the liberation war from The War Crimes Facts Finding Committee (WCFFC).

The WCFFC submitted the list and other documents and evidence to help investigators.

WCFFC chief M.A. Hasan told reporters that most on the list have died and only 400 or 500 are still alive.

The names of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, JeI leaders including Nizami, former chief Golam Azam, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and assistant secretary general A.T.M. Azharul Islam appeared on the list.

Hasan claims the documents are strong enough to prove the allegations against the war crime suspects.