[JURIST] The International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh (ICTB) [Facebook page] on Thursday indicted Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, secretary general of the Jamaat e Islam (JI) [official website; GlobalSecurity backgrounder] on seven counts of crimes against humanity he allegedly committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. The panel of three judges read out the charges [The Daily Star report] including genocide, conspiracy in killing intellectuals, murder and confinement. Mojaheed pleaded not guilty. The tribunal set the trial date for July 19, starting with the opening statement by the prosecution. The indictment came after the three-member tribunal headed by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir decided to give itself time to consider [The Daily Star report] whether it would proceed with the indictment earlier this month.

On Sunday, Bangladesh police arrested [JURIST report] Mir Kashem Ali for allegedly being an auxiliary to the Pakistani armed forces and running a torture facility at the Dalim Hotel during the war. The ICTB issued earlier that day an arrest warrant against the chairman of Diganta Media Corporation [Facebook page] and senior leader of the JI. He was the eighth high-profile leader who has been indicted for the crimes committed during the war. A week earlier, the ICTB indicted [JURIST report] former Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Abdul Alim on 17 counts of crimes against humanity, Bangladesh’s national news agency reported. In May, the ICTB indicted [JURIST report] Matiur Rahman Nizami, the chief of the JI, and Abdul Quader Molla, Nizami’s deputy, for alleged human rights atrocities committed during the war. During the same month, Ghulam Azam, former head of the JI, was indicted [JURIST report] by the ICTB for similar charges. He had been taken into custody [JURIST report] in January after his request for bail was denied.