The defence counsel of detained Jamaat amir Matiur Rahman Nizami on Sunday described the charges pressed against his client as ‘vague.’
Moving a petition of Nizami seeking his discharge from the case, his lawyer M Tajul Islam submitted that the prosecution failed bring specific charges against his client.
He also submitted that the prosecution could not substantiate the nature of the offences allegedly perpetrated by his client.
The defence lawyer resumes his arguments
before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on law points this morning.
Also known as the war crimes tribunal, the ICT was constituted for trying the 1971 war crimes suspects.
Tajul submitted that nowhere in the charges, the prosecution could establish direct association on involvement of Nizami with the charges of crimes against humanity it pressed against him.
Tajul said that most of the charges were pressed against Nizami for making statements in 1971.
He said nowhere the prosecution could show that Nizami was directly associated or involved with the offences.
He also submitted that the prosecution could not show any role Nizami played as the chief of Al Badr, a secret killing group in 1971, as alleged by the prosecution,
Tajul admitted Nizami made ‘inciting’ speeches addressing his associates at different places during the war of independence to ‘annihilate’ freedom fighters ‘to save Pakistan from Indian aggression’ but he said that Nizami’s speeches do  not show that he was directly associated or involved in the crimes against humanity or genocide.
He said that Nizami also made a number of statements protesting against the atrocities committed by Pakistani occupation forces, but those were not properly carried by newspapers due to censorship.
The tribunal on January 9 took cognisance of the charges against Nizami.
On December 11, 2011, the prosecution submitted the formal charges against Nizami accusing him of genocide, crimes against humanity and complicity in such crimes during the 1971 war of independence.
On March 13, the prosecution concluded its arguments seeking indictment of Nizami.