No presidential clemency for war criminals: Law Minister

Law Minister Anisul Huq said Sunday the government is contemplating taking steps to bar the perpetrators of crimes against humanity from getting presidential clemency in the future, reports BSS.
"It would be very sad, if any President pardons any perpetrator of crimes against humanity in the future," he said replying to a question from journalists after attending the inaugural session of 'Judicial Mediation Skill Training for Active Judges' at the BIAM auditorium in the city.
Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI) and Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF) jointly organised the programme.
The law minister said, "It is not possible that any President would pardon any perpetrator of war crimes and we would witness it."
The government is thinking over this legal issue in view of the reality, he added.
Replying to another question, Anisul Huq said the draft of amended 'International Crimes Tribunal Act' to try organisations or parties for war crimes is like to be placed before the cabinet in the first week of November.
Earlier, addressing the inaugural session as the chief guest, the minister said about 7.0 million civil and criminals are currently under trial in the country.
It is possible to reduce the backlog of cases by applying the alternate dispute resolution (ADR) rules, he said adding that the rules have already been finalised and those would be approved soon.
Then the judges would be able to settle cases outside the court, he said.
Presided over by Law and Justice Division Joint Secretary Abu Ahmed Jamadar, the function was also addressed by Secretary-in-Charge of Law and Justice Division Abu Saleh Sheikh M Zahirul Haq.