A special court in Bangladesh set up to try war crimes suspects from the country's 1971 battle for independence delayed the start of its first trial on Sunday, a court official told AFP. The prosecution was due to make an opening statement on Sunday against Delawar Hossain Sayedee, a leader of an opposition Islamic party charged with 20 counts including crimes against humanity and genocide.
But lawyers for Sayedee asked for a review of the charges and called for the withdrawal of tribunal chairman Nizamul Huq because of his alleged bias against defendants. "The tribunal set November 16 for hearing of the review petition. The trial will now start on November 20," court register Shahinul Islam told AFP. The International Crimes Tribunal is a domestic court with no United Nations oversight or involvement.
The court, called the International Crimes Tribunal, is a domestic set-up with no United Nations oversight or involvement. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina - the daughter of independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - established the court after she returned to power in 2009, but it has been widely criticised for targeting her political opponents.
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