The defence has claimed that Barrister Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman, son of Jamaat leader and convicted war criminal Mir Quasem Ali, was not forcibly disappeared for eight years but had gone into hiding.
The claim was made by defence lawyer Aminul Gani Tito during cross-examination on Sunday (March 8) at the International Crimes Tribunal-1.
The hearing was conducted before a three-member tribunal panel led by Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Mozumder. The other members of the panel are Justice Md. Shafiul Alam Mahmud and Judge Mohitul Haque Enam Chowdhury.
During the cross-examination, lawyer Tito told Barrister Arman that he had been in hiding and was not forcibly disappeared by any law enforcement agency. He also claimed that the incidents described in Armanโs book Aynaghorer Sakshi, Gumjiboner At Bochor were not true. However, Barrister Arman firmly denied these allegations.
Questions were also raised regarding evidence during the hearing. Barrister Arman stated that the scarf around his neck and the lungi and T-shirt he was wearing at the time of his alleged detention were requested by the investigating officer, but he did not preserve them. He later admitted that he had destroyed those clothes. The defence questioned whether the destruction of the evidence was intentional, but Arman denied the allegation.
At one stage of the cross-examination, a documentary on his alleged disappearance was shown in the tribunal. In the footage, he was seen wearing a lungi, a T-shirt, and a scarf around his neck. Arman claimed that the images were taken from original CCTV footage. However, the defence argued that he had been made to wear those clothes for the purpose of filming the documentary. Arman rejected this claim as well.
Later, lawyer Tabarak Hossain sought time to continue cross-examination on behalf of seven accused, including Lieutenant Colonel Sarwar Bin Quasem. Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam raised an objection to the request. After the hearing, the tribunal fixed March 10 for the next round of cross-examination.
Representing the prosecution at the hearing were prosecutors Mizanul Islam, Gazi MH Tamim, Shaikh Mahdi, and Sultan Mahmud, among others.
Meanwhile, 10 arrested accused in the same case were produced before the tribunal on Sunday morning from a special prison inside the Dhaka Cantonment. They include former Rapid Action Battalion officers Brigadier General Md. Jahangir Alam, Brigadier General Tofayel Mostafa Sarwar, Brigadier General Md. Kamrul Hasan, Brigadier General Mahabub Alam, Colonel KM Azad, Colonel Abdullah Al Momen, Colonel Anwar Latif Khan, Colonel Moshiur Rahman, Lieutenant Colonel Saiful Islam Sumon, and Lieutenant Colonel Sarwar Bin Quasem.
Several others have been shown as absconding in the case, including former defence adviser to ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Major General (retd.) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed, former RAB Director General M Khurshid Hossain, former police chief Harun Or Rashid, and Lieutenant Colonel (retd.) Md. Khairul Islam.
The case is currently under trial at the tribunal, and cross-examination is expected to continue in the next hearing.
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