Sakar's judgment leaked. The mystery started to unravel

The Dhaka Times Desk BNP leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, accused of crimes against humanity, has begun to unravel the mystery of the leaked verdict. Police have already arrested an employee of the tribunal.

Metropolitan Detective Police has identified 3 people suspected to be involved in leaking the judgment of BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury. They are War Crimes Tribunal employee Nayan Ali, Farooq and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury's lawyer Barrister Fakhrul Islam's assistant Mehdi Hasan. Yesterday afternoon, the DB police filed a case against the three accused in the Shahbag police station. Meanwhile, Nayan Ali has been arrested in that case by the police.

Police said Mehdi is absconding. Efforts are underway to arrest him. Officials of the DB said that Mehdi leaked the draft copy of the judgment using those two employees of the tribunal by luring and blackmailing a large sum of money. Farooq was working as a tribunal stenographer and Nayan Ali as a cleaner on the master roll. Being proficient in computer operation, Nayan Ali also worked occasionally in the computer wing of the tribunal. On this occasion, Nayan handed over the draft copy of the judgment to Mehedi Hasan in the pen drive in exchange for money. While the judgment was being composed on the tribunal's computer, Nayan Ali provided a draft of it on a pen drive to Saka's counsel's assistant. Meanwhile, a case has been filed in Shahbag police station yesterday under the Information Technology Act regarding the leaking of the draft of the verdict.

DMP Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said in a press conference organized at the media center of Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday afternoon that the employees of the tribunal leaked the draft copy of the verdict due to the greed of money. He believes that a copy of the verdict has been provided on a pen drive or CD. Initially, 3 people involved in the verdict leak incident have been identified. Against whom a case has been filed under the Information Technology Act. Nayan Ali, an employee of the International Criminal Tribunal, has been arrested among those 3 people. Earlier yesterday, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury's lawyer Fakhrul Islam's chamber was searched and a computer was seized.

In the said press conference, Monirul Islam also said that due to the greed of money and black-mail, Nayan Ali provided the copy of the judgment from the tribunal's computer to Mehedi Hasan. Another computer operator of the tribunal named Farooq is involved in this incident. They got the information that these two had provided the copy of the judgment to Mehdi Hasan, Saka's lawyer's assistant. A case has been filed in Shahbagh police station under sections 54, 57 and 63 of the ICT Act against the three. Among the 3 accused in the case, Nayan Ali, the employee of the tribunal's master roll, was arrested by the police last Thursday.

It should be noted that last Tuesday the International Criminal Tribunal-1 sentenced Saka Chowdhury to death for genocide and crimes against humanity during the liberation war. After that Saka Chowdhury's wife and other family members showed a document to journalists and claimed that copies of the verdict were available on various websites since the previous night. It is said to have been received from the Ministry of Law. On Wednesday, AKM Nasiruddin Mahmud, registrar and spokesperson of the tribunal, told reporters that initially the tribunal is assuming that some parts of the draft judgment in the case of crimes against humanity against Saka Chowdhury have been leaked from the tribunal's computer. On the same day, the Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal, AKM Nasiruddin Mahmud, made a GD at the Shahbag police station. Then the DB started investigating this sensational incident. Evidence was found within 48 hours of the search - the draft copy of the verdict was leaked from the tribunal itself.