NN Online:
Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, Mohammad Tajul Islam, has vowed that no one involved in the July genocide will escape justice.
“Those who thought they could commit genocide in Bangladesh and evade trial through a counter-revolution should take this as a clear message — perpetrators will not be spared,” he said on Tuesday. He stressed that the trial process would continue under all circumstances.
The tribunal aims to conclude the trial of key suspects in the July–August mass killings by December. “Mobile courts and genocide trials are not the same. This trial is being conducted with time and precision to ensure that no government or international body can challenge the verdict,” Tajul added. Hearings against Sheikh Hasina are set to begin on 3 August.
He made the remarks at a discussion and documentary screening on the July genocide trial, organised by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs at the Judicial Training Institute in Dhaka.
At the event, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Environment Ministry, called for an investigation into how those involved — including those who gave the orders — managed to flee the country. “The trial will proceed in absentia, but it is unacceptable that they will not truly face justice,” she said, warning that many perpetrators may remain beyond the reach of punishment.
She also criticised the ongoing practices of “arrest-for-profit” and “case-for-profit” and urged political leaders to put national interests above personal or party agendas.
Law Adviser Asif Nazrul and Law and Justice Division Secretary Sheikh Abu Taher were also present. The programme included prayers for those killed in the July uprising and in the Milestone School fighter jet crash, as well as the screening of the documentary Trial of July Carnage.
