amaat-e-Islami
leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee and collaborator Moslem Mawlana raped a
Hindu girl (we are not disclosing her name on ethical grounds) over and
over again at Parerhaat of Pirojpur during the Liberation War, a
prosecution witness said.
Forth
prosecution witness Sultan Ahmmed Hawlader yesterday said this in his
deposition at the International Crimes Tribunal in the case filed
against Sayedee in connection with crimes against humanity during the
war in 1971.
Sultan, who
was 20 years old during the Liberation War, told the court that the
Jamaat leader and Moslem also forced the victim's family members
including her father and brother to convert to Islam. They were later
forced to pray in the mosque.
The girl and other rape victims left the country for India after the war and they never returned, he said.
The
three-member tribunal headed by its chairman Justice Nizamul Huq
recorded the witness' deposition yesterday after Sayedee's defence
finished cross-examining third prosecution witness Mizanur Rahman
Talukder.
Sayedee is
among five Jamaat and two BNP leaders who are facing charges of crimes
against humanity at the court. Nearly 30 lakh Bangalees were killed and
two lakh Bangalee women were violated by the Pakistan occupation forces and their Bangladeshi collaborators during the nine-month-long Liberation War in 1971.
Recalling the
events of the day, which he believes to be May 8, 1971, Sultan said he
saw fire and heard screams and cries from his neighbour Manik Poshari's
home.
“As I
approached Manik Poshari's house, I saw flames in the houses of Manik
Poshari, Raijuddin Poshari, Shaheeduddin Poshari and 15 to 20 other
houses,” he said.
As he went
near the houses, he saw Sayedee, Sikandar Sikder, Danesh Ali Mollah and
Moslem Mawlana among other collaborators and Pakistani army personnel
taking away Manik Poshari's cousin Mafiz and his employee Ibrahim
towards Parerhaat. Both of them had been tied up.
Sultan and a
few others discreetly followed them to Parerhaat. They saw Sayedee
talking to some Pakistani soldiers. And all of a sudden, there was a
deafening gunshot followed by a loud cry.
“The next day,
we came to know that Ibrahim was shot and his body was thrown into the
water and Mofiz was taken to a camp set up at Parerhaat,” Sultan told
the court.
Manik Poshari
of Chitholia village on August 12, 2009, filed a case against Sayedee
and four others in connection with war crimes during 1971.
According to a
report in The Daily Star, the case summery is that Sayedee and the
other accused along with the Pakistani army stormed Poshari's house
around 3:00pm on May 8, 1971. They looted the house and set it on fire.
The collaborators also handed Poshari's caretaker Ibrahim over to the
Pakistani army to have him killed. The Pakistani army personnel shot
Ibrahim dead in Parerhaat.
“Delawar
Hossain, also known as Sayedee, along with loyal collaborators continued
committing the crimes including arson, killing, looting, abuse of women
and handing over women to Pakistani army for rape,” Sultan said.
“I demand Sayedee's punishment.”
Unlike the
other collaborator leaders of Pirojpur, Sayedee was fluent in Arabic and
Urdu. This helped him maintain good communication with the Pakistani
army and encouraged them in different misdeeds. Sultan will face
cross-examination from Sayedee's defence today as the court adjourned
yesterday's session following a prayer from the defence.
Meanwhile, the
tribunal directed the jail authorities to make arrangements for
physiotherapy of Sayedee before he is brought to the tribunal. The court
will, however, continue its proceedings as per schedule, 10:30am, even
if Sayedee is absent.
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