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Tureen Afroz

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Tureen Afroz is a Bangladeshi lawyer and former senior prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal.[1][2] She was removed from the tribunal after allegedly meeting accused war criminal Mohammad Wahidul Haque.[3] She prosecuted cases against Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Ghulam Azam, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Motiur Rahman Nizami, and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.[4]

Career

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Afroz became a lawyer of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh in 1998.[4] She started working as a lawyer in Australia in 2001.[4] She taught law at Western Sydney University and Monash University.[4] She joined BRAC University as an associate professor of school of law.[4]

Afroz was appointed prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal in February 2013.[4] She prosecuted the case against Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Ghulam Azam, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami politicians.[5]

Afroz's mother Samsunnahar Taslim filed a complaint at Uttara West police station against her alleging Afroz evicted her and her son, Shahnewaz Ahmed Shishir, from their residence in Uttara on 2 March 2017.[4] She had evicted her family and other tenants of the building and filed a case against her own family in May.[4] Her family asked for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to intervene while she questioned the point of asking the prime minister for held regarding a judicial matter.[6]

In November 2015, Afroz received a threatening phone call asking her to withdraw from the International Crimes Tribunal prosecution team in the war crimes case against Syed Mohammad Hussain, alias Hossain Daroga or Razakarer Daroga, of Kishoreganj District.[7][8] Hossain was a member of Razakar paramilitary unit and his father, Syed Musleh Uddin, was the leader of the Kishoreganj District unit of the East Pakistan Central Peace Committee and vice president of Pakistan Democratic Party in East Pakistan.[8] Hossain left for Malaysia on 21 May 2014 five months before the prosecution began against him. Hossain was sentenced to death in absentia.[8][9]

Afroz sought the nomination of Awami League in 2018 to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections.[4]

Afroz was removed from all cases of the in May 2018 after some allegation of indiscipline was raised against her.[4] Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee also opened their investigation against her on allegations of meeting a war crimes suspect at a restaurant in secret.[10] Anisul Huq, Minister of Law, promised a quick resolution on the complaint against her.[11] On 11 November 2019, the Solicitor Wing of the Law and Justice Division removed Afroz from the prosecution team after the Ministry of Law found evidence of her talking to a war criminal accused and telling the suspect the case against them had "no merit".[4][12] She denied allegations of meeting Mohammad Wahidul Haque, war crimes suspect, and taking money from him, and said she was not allowed to defend herself.[4][13] The allegations were raised by senior coordinator of International Crimes Tribunal's investigation agency Md Sanaul Haque.[4] Haque was serving in the Pakistan Army's 29th Cavalry Regiment during the Bangladesh Liberation War and charged with participating with the killing of hundreds in Rangpur.[14]

Afroz was the member secretary of Gono Commission of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee.[15] She was part of a delegation led by AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik which submitted a list of 116 Islamic leaders to the Anti-Corruption Commission which was condemned in a statement by Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh.[16] On 10 April 2022, She joined a march of Sohel Taj to the Ganabhaban to demand 10 April, the day Mujibnagar government took oath, be declared Republic Day of Bangladesh.[17]

In January 2023, Justices Md. Salim and Md. Riaz Uddin Khan of the High Court Division stopped Afroz's case against her brother and asked her why the case should not be dismissed.[18]

After the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Afroz's residence in Uttara was attacked.[19] She was assaulted and had her head shaved.[19] The attackers asked her to denounce the International Crimes Tribunal and asked why she was not wearing a hijab.[19] They jabbed a pencil in her thigh multiple times.[19] Her ancestral home and law office in Jaldhaka Upazila of Nilphamari District were vandalized.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Tureen Afroz removed as ICT prosecutor for misconduct". The Business Standard. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  2. ^ "Government removes Tureen Afroz from International Crimes Tribunal". Daily Sun. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  3. ^ "Govt scraps Tureen Afroz's appointment as war crimes prosecutor". Govt scraps Tureen Afroz’s appointment as war crimes prosecutor. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Tureen Afroz removed from ICT prosecution team". Dhaka Tribune. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Top Islamist Sentenced to Death by Bangladesh Tribunal". Voice of America. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  6. ^ "Barrister Tureen's family seeks PM's intervention". Dhaka Tribune. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Death threats plunge Tureen Afroz into fear". daily-sun. 1 November 2015. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  8. ^ a b c Report, Star Online (2017-04-19). "2 Kishoreganj Razakars get death". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  9. ^ "Kishoreganj's Razakar commander Hasan Ali gets death for Bangladesh genocide in 1971". Kishoreganj’s Razakar commander Hasan Ali gets death for Bangladesh genocide in 1971. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  10. ^ "Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee opens probe into ICT prosecutor Tureen Afroz". Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee opens probe into ICT prosecutor Tureen Afroz. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  11. ^ "Decision on ICT prosecutor Tureen Afroz soon: Anisul". The Daily Star. 2018-06-10. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  12. ^ "ICT prosecutor Tureen Afroz removed". Prothomalo. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  13. ^ "I was deprived of self-defence: Tureen Afroz". Daily Sun. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  14. ^ "Former NSI DG arrested in case over crimes against humanity". Prothomalo. 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  15. ^ Hasan, Rashidul (2022-06-08). "Gono commission paper: ACC to review allegations". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  16. ^ "No scope to take Hefazat's statement lightly: Gono Commission - - observerbd.com". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  17. ^ "Sohel Taj leads march to Ganabhaban demanding Apr 10 as 'Republic Day'". Sohel Taj leads march to Ganabhaban demanding Apr 10 as ‘Republic Day’. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  18. ^ "Tureen Afroz's case against brother: Trial stayed for 6 months". The Daily Star. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  19. ^ a b c d "Bangladesh 1971 war crimes prosecutor recounts horror: Hair cut, pencil jabbed in leg". India Today. 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  20. ^ "Former ICT prosecutor Tureen Afroz alleges assault at her home". The Business Standard. 2024-08-09. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
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