‘Please forgive us if we caused you any hurt’

Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman yesterday apologised to anyone who might be hurt by the party at any time.

"If you have been hurt by any of our behaviour or performance -- whenever, however -- please forgive us," he told a press conference, following the acquittal of Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam, who was accused of committing war crimes in 1971.

"We are humans after all, to err is human. As a party, we do not claim to be above mistakes. If any party activist, party worker or the party itself has caused harm or hurt anyone, anywhere, we unconditionally apologise. Please forgive us," the Jamaat ameer said.

There was a time when the party was in great danger, but "we tried to stand by the people" who were in need.

After the fall of the fascist regime, he said, his party tried to be beside the families of martyrs and the wounded. "But we believe that we could not fully discharge our duties due to many limitations."

He said during Sheikh Hasina's autocratic rule, 11 senior leaders of the party fell victim to "judicial killing" through "rigged courts and false witness" testimonies. Former chief justice SK Sinha mentioned this in his book, he added.

During the trial, "safe homes" were set up to torture Jamaat leaders, and there were places to keep people who gave false testimonies, Shafiqul said.

He referred to the entire judicial process of the tribunal that prosecuted 1971 war criminals as a "genocide of the justice".

At the end of the press conference, the Jamaat leader did not take any questions. He merely said, "Today, we will not answer any questions. For us, this moment is not like any other."