Ex-MP Shakhawat among 9 sued for war crimes 

A tribunal in Dhaka today accepted war crimes charges against nine including former Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Shakhawat Hossain while clearing three accused of the charges.

Five charges of war crimes committed in Jessore during the 1971 Liberation War were levelled against the 12.

Those who have been cleared of the charges are: Ajihar Morol, Akram Hossain and Moshiur Rahman.

There were no specific charges against the three, Prosecutor Rezia Sultana Chaman told The Daily Star.

The prosecution on July 27 pressed the charges against 12 people, showing four of them as arrested and the rest as fugitives.

The charge-sheeted accused were allegedly involved in killing two persons, raping one and torturing two others in Keshabpur of Jessore. All the incidents took place in the Bangla month of Ashwin (between mid-September and mid-October) in 1971, according to the prosecution.

On June 15, the investigation agency of the tribunal said they had found “evidence” against the 12 of their “involvement” in crimes against humanity.

According to the agency, Shakhawat was a central committee member of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, and a commander of Pakistani army's auxiliary Razakar force at Chingra Bazar camp.

Law enforcers arrested Shakhawat at his Uttar Khan's house in the capital on November 29 last year.

On June 18, the agency handed over the probe reports, statements of the witnesses and other documents to the prosecution.