Dhaka: The four top Jamaat leaders accused of wartime crimes will be produced before the International Crimes Tribunal Monday to stand trial under a tight security cover.   

Earlier on July 29, the tribunal summoned them to appear before it on August 2 for the trial of the offences allegedly committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

“The security system has been tightened by deploying additional police forces in and outside the Tribunal,” said a highly placed police source, adding that the accused will be produced at 10am.

Already detained in custody after their arrest in other cases and then implicated in war-crime cases, the summoned four are Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary-General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, and assistant secretaries-general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Mollah.

The tribunal issued the summons as a follow-up to the arrest warrants issued earlier on July 26 at the first sitting of the tribunal.

Officials said the order was issued in response to a report sent by Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner AKM Shahidul Haque to the tribunal, stating, “Since the Jamaat leaders have already been detained in other cases, the arrest warrants issued by the tribunal needn’t be followed up”.

The three-member tribunal led by Justice Nizamul Huq Nasim gave the arrest order after a petition was filed Sunday by Chief Prosecutor Golam Arif Tipu for showing the four arrested on specific charges of crimes during the Liberation War.

The tribunal fixed August 2 for the hearing and asked the prosecution panel to inform the court about the execution of its order on that day.

The petition was filed as per section 3(2) of the International Crimes Tribunal Act 1973 in order to allow investigation into the crimes.

Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary-General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee were arrested on June 29 on charges of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims through their blasphemous comments.

Later, party assistant secretaries-general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Mollah were arrested from the High Court gate on July 13 in a murder-and-arson case filed with Pallabi thana by an injured freedom fighter in January 2008.

BDST: 2144HRS, AUG 01, 2010