Families observe death anniversary

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Family members of 13 army officers executed under a controversial court martial in 1981 Wednesday observed their 29th death anniversary as a recently published documentary sparked fresh debates about the procedures and motive of the trial, reports BSS.
Family sources said they observed the death anniversaries of the 13 officers, mostly 1971 veterans, in a low profile holding of milad mahfils and prayers as the day coincided with the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday.
Twelve of the officers were hanged hurriedly for their alleged involvement in the May 30 killing of president Ziaur Rahman after a hasty trial in a military court that completed the court martial process only in 18 days.
The 13th officer was hanged two years later as he was being treated for bullet wounds he had received during the May 30 incident in the port city of Chittagong. The army prosecutors, who were appointed to defend the suspected officers and whose ranks ranged between lieutenants and brigadier generals, later called it a farcical trial as they were declined the minimal opportunity to defend them in line with Army Act.
The four-episode and 10-hour long documentary titled `Bloodbath in the Military of Bangladesh (1975-1981)', released in July this year dedicating the last two parts to the 1981 incident, came up with several evidence indicating innocence of the 13 officers.
The documentary, mainly based on interviews of the military people including investigators and prosecutors, found the accused were denied their rights for self-defence while the "motivated" investigators used brute force on them to obtain statements they had wanted ahead and during the trial. The documentary, produced by journalist Anwar Kabir, was exhibited as a reference recently before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court during a hearing on a presidential reference on a different issue.
A senior Supreme Court lawyer said they planned to file a writ challenging the legality of "extra-judicial killings" in the name of court martial starting with the Colonel Taher case, a veteran commander of the 1971 Liberation War.
"We will initially focus on the "farcical trial" of Taher who walked to the gallows as the first man to be hanged in jail after the 1971 independence, he said.
The senior most officer to walk to the gallows was Brigadier General Mohsin Uddin Ahmed and the junior most was Lieutenant Mohammad Rafiqul Hassan Khan, who was only 23 at that time. The other officers were Colonel Nawajesh Uddin, Colonel M Abdur Rashid, Lieutenant Colonel AYM Mahfuzur Rahman, Lieutenant Colonel M Delwar Hossain, Lieutenant Colonel Shah Mohammad Fazle Hossain, Major AZ Giashuddin Ahmed, Major Rawshan Yazdani Bhuiyan, Major Kazi Mominul Haque, Major M Mojibur Rahman, Captain Mohammad Abdus Sattar and Captain Jamil Haque.
According to documents and references the officers were arrested in between June 1 and 3, 1981 while the court martial chaired by Major General Abdur Rahman began inside Chittagong Central Jail on July 10 and ended on July 28.
The accused were sent to different jails while 12 of them were hanged maintaining maximum secrecy after the midnight of September 23 as protests were mounting about the motive and procedures of the trial.