Bangladesh investigators recommend ban on Jamaat

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal(ICT)-appointed investigators in their submissions to the prosecution recommended the ban on Jamaa-e-Islami for its role in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

Motiur Rahman, investigating officer, handed the 373-page report along with files containing 9,557 pages of proof to Chief Prosecutor Golam Arif Tipu Thursday.

Abdul Hannan Khan, coordinator of the ICT's investigating agency, Tuesday said the detailed report about the Jamaat's role in the 1971 war had been finalised after a probe lasting seven months.

It slapped seven charges of "crimes against humanity" against the Islamist party, setting the stage for its prosecution for its role in the 1971 Liberation War, bdnews24.com reported.

Bangladesh's two war crimes tribunals have been trying the top leadership of the party since 2010 and several of them have already been sentenced to death or for life.

It is during the trials of its senior leaders on war crimes charges that the anti-liberation role of Jamaat became evident, prompting the tribunal's investigators to probe charges of war crimes against the party and its affiliates.

The first war crimes tribunal described Jamaat as a "criminal organisation".

The tribunal sentenced its top war-time leader Ghulam Azam to 90 years in prison last year.

The tribunal made similar observations while handing down death sentences to other Jamaat leaders such as Delwar Hossain Sayedee, Abdul Quader Molla and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman.