B`desh tribunal slaps HRW with show cause notice

A special Bangladeshi tribunal dealing with the 1971 war crimes on Monday issued a show cause notice to HRW asking it to explain why contempt of court proceeding should not be initiated against it.

Dhaka: A special Bangladeshi tribunal dealing with the 1971 war crimes on Monday issued a show cause notice to Human Rights Watch asking it to explain why contempt of court proceeding should not be initiated against it for its comments on a recent ruling on former Jamaat chief.

The three-member panel of International Crimes Tribunal-1 led by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir asked the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) to reply in three weeks. On July 5, the tribunal sentenced former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam to 90 years in prison finding him guilty in five charges of crimes against humanity and genocide during the country`s liberation war against Pakistan in 1971. The HRW claimed that the trial of 91-year-old Azam at the tribunal had been "deeply flawed" and "it had not met the international standards", the Daily Star reported. It said the "judges had improperly conducted an investigation on behalf of the prosecution" and expressed concern over "collusion and bias among prosecutors and judges". The tribunal also fixed September 30 for passing further order in this regard. Board of directors of HRW, its Asia Director Brad Adams and Associate for the Asia Division Storm Tiv have been made respondents to the order. The tribunal also asked the foreign ministry to take necessary steps to serve the show cause notices to the respondents. If proved, the accused would have to serve one year in jail or pay 5,000 Taka (USD 63) as fine or both. PTI