Gallows for SQ Chy.

 A special tribunal based in Dhaka Tuesday awarded BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury death penalty for wartime offences that he committed during the country’s 1971 War of Independence.  Nine out of 23 charges levelled against the 64-year-old lawmaker from the main opposition party, BNP, were proved beyond doubt.  Justice Anwarul Haque, a judge on the three-member panel of International Crimes Tribunal-1, started reading out a summary of the 172-page verdict at 10:45am.  While security was tightened at and around the tribunal, additional security measures were taken at different parts of the capital, including the High Court, Doel Chattar, Paltan and BNP headquarters at Naya Paltan area, to avert any untoward incident.  In Raozan where Chowdhury is based and allegedly carried out atrocities during the Liberation War, security has been beefed up as the family of the victims and those who testified against Chowdhury are gripped by fear of reprisal.  Around 10:00am, a contingent of security men guarded Chowdhury as he was taken to the prison cell of the ICT in a prison van.  Five minutes before the start of the proceedings, he was produced before the tribunal.  Chowdhury was arrested on December 16, 2010 at Banani in the capital in connection with the torching of a car at Moghbazar on June 26 the same year.  After the ICT issued an arrested warrant on December 19, 2010, he was shown arrested for involvement with crimes against humanity.  According to the prosecution, Chowdhury was involved in the killings of Nutan Singh, founder of herbal medicine factory Kundeshwari Oushadhalaya, and 35 people at Jagatmallo Para and 69 others at Unasattar Para in Chittagong during the War of Independence.  Primary investigation shows Chowdhury with the help of Pakistan occupation forces led the murders and tortures near his Goods Hill residence in the port city, said the prosecution.  The prosecution sought the death penalty for the BNP leader while the defence claimed that the prosecution had failed to prove any of the 23 charges and appealed for his acquittal.  Forty-one prosecution witnesses, including an “eyewitness” who had claimed to have seen Chowdhury shoot and kill Nutan Chandra Sinha during the 1971 Liberation War, gave their testimony.  The defence was able to bring in four witnesses, including the accused and his cousin, in its bid to prove he was innocent and that he was not in the country during the war.  Earlier on August 14, the tribunal kept the Chowdhury case CAV (Curia Advisari Vult, a Latin legal term meaning verdict would be delivered anytime).  On Monday, ICT-1 chairman announced the date for delivery of the judgement Monday