The indictment Sunday of former leader of Jamat-e-Islami Bangladesh Prof. Ghulam Azam by a special court here came as no surprise to one his sons. “It was expected... it was pre-planned,” said his son, who did not want to disclose his name for fear of intimidation by the Bangladesh government. A special tribunal charged Prof. Azam, 89, with war crimes allegedly carried out during the country's 1971 independence struggle against Pakistan. Prosecutors accuse Azam of committing crimes, including murder and torture, during the nine-month war. Wheelchair-bound Azam pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out to him for two hours by Judge Nizamul Huq, who set June 5 as the start of the trial. “The International Crimes Tribunal charged him with crimes against humanity, genocide, murder, rape, abduction, arson and other crimes under international law,” state prosecutor Ziad Al Malum was quoted as saying. His son told Saudi Gazette that it was ironic that a civilian who was never a part of any government has been charged with war crimes. “A number of channels are being explored to take the next move. We are taking care of the human rights violation. Jamat is taking up legal fight. And International human rights organizations will also take up the case,” he said. The arrest of Prof. Azam is itself the violation of human rights, because he was taken into custody in January and held without charges, his son said. Azam is the third and most high profile opposition figure to have been charged since the government set up the tribunal in 2010. Both Jamaat and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party have dismissed the court as a “show trial”, while Human Rights Watch has said procedures used by the tribunal fall short of international standards. __
