Supporters of Pakistan’s Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami protest against the conviction of Jamaat-e-Islami’s Ghulam Azam during in Karachi yesterday.


By Mizan Rahman /Dhaka


The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1 yesterday issued an arrest warrant against absconding Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Jahid Hossain Khokon, better known as Khokon Razakar, taking the formal charge submitted against him by the prosecution into cognisance.
Khokon, aged 70, the incumbent mayor of Nagarkanda Municipality of Faridpur district and also the vice-president of Nagarkanda unit of BNP, is accused of committing crimes against humanity in his locality as a leader of local Razakar group aiding the Pakistan occupation army.
The ICT-1 set July 30 for hearings on charge framing against Khokon and asked the prosecution to supply all the necessary documents on the charges brought against him to the defence.
The prosecution on June 23 submitted formal charge against Khokon, bringing 10 charges of crimes against humanity. They had pleaded for issuing arrest warrant against Khokon on that day.
The charges brought against Khokon are murder, rape, abduction, confinement and forced conversion among others.
Earlier on May 30, the investigation agency submitted the final report on the alleged crimes committed by Khokon, bringing 13 charges of crimes against humanity including genocide, murder, rape, and forced conversion.
According to the investigation agency, Khokon along with his elder brother Jafar Razakar had formed a Razakar group in their locality.
They had received arms and ammunition from Pakistani army on April 21, 1971, and created havoc in Nagarkanda area.  “He was a vicious killer, who raided and destroyed everything in his path for three days after his brother was killed in a battle with freedom fighters on May 29, 1971,” Sanaul Haque, senior investigator of the probe agency said.
With him, two more BNP leaders Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, a sitting member of the parliament and Abdul Alim, a former minister are on trial for war crimes.
The government yesterday submitted formal charge before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 accusing detained Jamaat-e- Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam of committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
After receiving the formal charge, the tribunal set July 24 for taking cognisance of the offences made against the accused.
The prosecution brought six charges against the Jamaat assistant secretary general, including murder, genocide, abduction, arson, torture and rape.
According to the prosecution, Azharul, the then Islami Chhatra Sangha (ICS) president of Rangpur district unit, was involved in the killing of more than 1,200 innocent people in Rangpur during the Liberation War in collaboration with the Pakistan occupation army and its auxiliary forces.
The ICS was the student front of the Jamaat.
Azharul had played a key role in the killing of intellectuals, cultural personalities, physicians and lawyers in different areas of Rangpur during the war.
Hailing from Batason Lohanipara village under Badarganj sub-district of Rangpur, Azharul was arrested on August 23, 2012 and produced before the tribunal three days later.
He has been in jail since then. Almost all top leaders of the Islamist party are now behind the bars with three sentenced to death and another given life term for war crimes in the 1971 liberation war.