BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, standing war crimes trial at the International Crimes Tribunal-1, on Thursday called the second witness in his case a 'Beadab' (impudent) person.
Salauddin, facing charges on 23 counts of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, shouted at the witness, Mohammad Salimullah, when the witness tried to make a statement minutes before the defence completed his cross-examination.
"Saqa (abbreviated form of Salauddin Quader used widely in the media) Chowdhury…" said Salimullah trying to make a statement that invited Salauddin's wrath just before the court went into lunch recess.
After the recess, the third witness in the case, Sirajul Islam Prokash, gave his deposition for about two hours until 4pm.
Earlier, day's proceedings at the ICT-1, formed to try crimes against humanity during the Liberation War, had barely started when defence counsel Ahsanul Haq Hena made a complaint against the reporter covering the ICT-1 over a news report published on May 23.
"Mr. Emran (the reporter) should be reprimanded," Hena appealed to the tribunal, adding, "I pray for an action against this man."
The defence counsel provided the court copies of the report titled "Good's Hill was Al-Shams headquarters."
"'On many occasions, I have seen him (the witness) talking to beautiful girls and taking them to unknown destinations holding their hands,' said Ahsanul Haq in one of his 'unprofessional remarks' as a counsel'," was the line the counsel was objecting to.
Hena was specifically objected to the use of word 'unprofessional'. Until the court ended its day's proceedings, Hena appealed for action against the reporter at least thrice.
Justice Nizamul Huq, chief of the three-member tribunal, said, "Though the reporter thinks your behaviour was unprofessional, he should not have used the word. This is unprofessional."
In a general message to the journalists, the justice urged all to be cautious about the words they use while reporting the trial proceedings.
"...Don't hurt anybody. You say the same thing, but say it in a soothing language" was the advice of the justice to the reporters in general.
"How they (journalists) will make maal (money) if they don't write in this fashion? They (journalists) earn money even from police," Salauddin quipped at this stage.
Minutes before the tribunal sat after the lunch recess, sitting in the dock Salauddin said, "Journalists can't even spell ethics, let alone maintaining ethical standards in their reporting. How can you (Hena) expect journalists to comprehend what ethics stands for when even judges don't know what it is all about?"
Hena argued that the media could not report all that was said in the court. According to him, news reporting should be limited to the recorded proceedings.
The Defence counsel continued for several minutes as the tribunal tried to pacify him. He took some time and began cross-examining the second witness for the third consecutive day when he lost his temper yet again.
It was time again for Justice Huq to intervene: "You cannot make gestures that could hurt the witness."
"Didn't he hurt me?" came the question from Hena in response to the remark of the justice.
On Wednesday, during the cross-examination, Hena lost his temper repeatedly as Salimullah, in reply to a question said that his (Hena) father Advocate Zahurul Haq was the convener of Cox's Bazar chapter of the Peace Committee, a platform floated during the Liberation War to collaborate with the Pakistani army.
"Mr Hena, You should control your anger and temper," the tribunal chief cautioned Hena once again on Thursday.
"I am a human being, not a cow," replied the defence counsel.
"A human being should know what is good for him," said the justice.
At one stage of cross-examination, Hena described the witness as a 'completely frustrated man'. The tribunal refused to record the statement, and he went by the decision.
During Salimullah's cross-examination, Hena, who also hails from Chittagong as the accused and the witness, went on shooting teasing posers at the witness, prompting the prosecution to raise objections repeatedly.
"There is no legal basis to torture a witness in the name of cross-examination. They (the defence) are doing this in a planned way. They are doing so not only for the sake of this case, but to send a message across that if someone becomes a witness, s/he will be questioned in this very fashion for several days," prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum had objected under a similar situation on Wednesday.
The deposition of the third witness will continue on Sunday.
Salauddin, facing charges on 23 counts of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, shouted at the witness, Mohammad Salimullah, when the witness tried to make a statement minutes before the defence completed his cross-examination.
"Saqa (abbreviated form of Salauddin Quader used widely in the media) Chowdhury…" said Salimullah trying to make a statement that invited Salauddin's wrath just before the court went into lunch recess.
After the recess, the third witness in the case, Sirajul Islam Prokash, gave his deposition for about two hours until 4pm.
Earlier, day's proceedings at the ICT-1, formed to try crimes against humanity during the Liberation War, had barely started when defence counsel Ahsanul Haq Hena made a complaint against the reporter covering the ICT-1 over a news report published on May 23.
"Mr. Emran (the reporter) should be reprimanded," Hena appealed to the tribunal, adding, "I pray for an action against this man."
The defence counsel provided the court copies of the report titled "Good's Hill was Al-Shams headquarters."
"'On many occasions, I have seen him (the witness) talking to beautiful girls and taking them to unknown destinations holding their hands,' said Ahsanul Haq in one of his 'unprofessional remarks' as a counsel'," was the line the counsel was objecting to.
Hena was specifically objected to the use of word 'unprofessional'. Until the court ended its day's proceedings, Hena appealed for action against the reporter at least thrice.
Justice Nizamul Huq, chief of the three-member tribunal, said, "Though the reporter thinks your behaviour was unprofessional, he should not have used the word. This is unprofessional."
In a general message to the journalists, the justice urged all to be cautious about the words they use while reporting the trial proceedings.
"...Don't hurt anybody. You say the same thing, but say it in a soothing language" was the advice of the justice to the reporters in general.
"How they (journalists) will make maal (money) if they don't write in this fashion? They (journalists) earn money even from police," Salauddin quipped at this stage.
Minutes before the tribunal sat after the lunch recess, sitting in the dock Salauddin said, "Journalists can't even spell ethics, let alone maintaining ethical standards in their reporting. How can you (Hena) expect journalists to comprehend what ethics stands for when even judges don't know what it is all about?"
Hena argued that the media could not report all that was said in the court. According to him, news reporting should be limited to the recorded proceedings.
The Defence counsel continued for several minutes as the tribunal tried to pacify him. He took some time and began cross-examining the second witness for the third consecutive day when he lost his temper yet again.
It was time again for Justice Huq to intervene: "You cannot make gestures that could hurt the witness."
"Didn't he hurt me?" came the question from Hena in response to the remark of the justice.
On Wednesday, during the cross-examination, Hena lost his temper repeatedly as Salimullah, in reply to a question said that his (Hena) father Advocate Zahurul Haq was the convener of Cox's Bazar chapter of the Peace Committee, a platform floated during the Liberation War to collaborate with the Pakistani army.
"Mr Hena, You should control your anger and temper," the tribunal chief cautioned Hena once again on Thursday.
"I am a human being, not a cow," replied the defence counsel.
"A human being should know what is good for him," said the justice.
At one stage of cross-examination, Hena described the witness as a 'completely frustrated man'. The tribunal refused to record the statement, and he went by the decision.
During Salimullah's cross-examination, Hena, who also hails from Chittagong as the accused and the witness, went on shooting teasing posers at the witness, prompting the prosecution to raise objections repeatedly.
"There is no legal basis to torture a witness in the name of cross-examination. They (the defence) are doing this in a planned way. They are doing so not only for the sake of this case, but to send a message across that if someone becomes a witness, s/he will be questioned in this very fashion for several days," prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum had objected under a similar situation on Wednesday.
The deposition of the third witness will continue on Sunday.
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