ICT act won’t have provisions for punishment of political parties

The amended International Crimes Tribunal Act will not include provisions to punish or recommend punishment for any political party or other organization, said Law Adviser Prof Asif Nazrul at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy today.
Apart from the normal provision for appealing to the Appellate Division, the amended act will also have a provision that will allow any party to raise questions about the case before the trial concludes, he added.
“This is called an interlocutory order. This means if any party raises questions about continuing the case in this court, it can do so. Or, if the tribunal brings allegations of contempt, it can go to the Appellate Division for interlocutory redress,” he said.
The provision for the death sentence, which existed in the ICT Act, will remain in place.
“We have clearly told the concerned parties who demand revoking this provision that we don’t have the scope to revoke it. The death sentence was part of our law in the past. We have not ratified the international treaty on abolishing such a sentence. Therefore, we don’t have any obligation,” Prof Asif Nazrul said.
The advisory council of the interim government approved the draft amendment of the Act during its meeting at the Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday.
Asif Nazrul said the original draft of the ICT Act had a provision for punishing political parties or other organisations if necessary, and the tribunal could recommend punishment.
“However, the council of advisers today thought that there would be unnecessary scope for questioning the law if there was a provision for punishing a political party or any other organisation. So, we don’t want to give that scope.
“We want to have a fair trial. So, the provision has been revoked. We felt that if there is any need to ban any political party or organization, other laws such as the electoral law, anti-terrorism law, or the Political Parties Ordinance can be applied. If the people or society demands it, those laws can be used,” he said.
The amended draft will become law once it is published as a gazette.
The interim government initiated these amendments as over 1,600 cases, including crimes against humanity during the July-August mass uprising, were filed under the ICT Act. The ICT itself has also been reformed.
Asif Nazrul said the amendments to the ICT Act now include definitions of crimes against humanity and genocide based on the Rome Statute, of which Bangladesh is a party.
“Those accused will have equal rights in the prosecution. The accused have been provided more rights. They can bring necessary witnesses and question the acceptability of witnesses,” he said.
Asif Nazrul also highlighted that the Act includes provisions for the protection of witnesses and compensation for affected individuals.
“The tribunal can also make audiovisual recordings and broadcast parts of the proceedings, maintaining due privacy for the people concerned,” he added.
The three agencies that can come under trial include the disciplinary forces, intelligence agencies, and auxiliary forces. The definitions of these entities have also been clarified.
He further said that any party in the case can appoint foreign lawyers, and local and foreign observers also have the right to observe the trial.