After the trial of several Jamaat leaders for crimes against humanity in 1971, demands were raised to put the party on trial. However, to ensure this, the International Crime Tribunal (ICT) act of 1973 has to be amended.
Despite several promises from the government, the law has not been amended in the last five years. It’s now known that the draft of the amended law has gone to the cabinet.
On Monday (Mar 25), Law Minister Anisul Huq said, “The draft is in the cabinet.”
The first amendment to the law was done in 2009 with the second in 2012.
Then the need for the law to be amended rose again when initiatives were taken to try the party for war crimes.
Chief coordinator of ICT, Abdul Hannan Khan, said, “The investigation against Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami began in 2013; after investigation, it was sent to the prosecution office in the form of a report on 27 March, 2014.”
Tribunal prosecutor Mokhlesur Rahman Badal said, “We want a swift amendment of the law.”
It’s found that the amendment includes outlawing the party if accusations of war crimes are proved against it. The other changes include using ‘organisation’ ‘organisational responsibility’ and ‘accused party’.