‘Prosecute Suu Kyi for crime against humanity’

A lawyer today served legal notice to the prosecution of International Crimes Tribunal to prosecute Aung San Suu Kyi for “genocide and crime against humanity” in Myanmar.

Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Delwar Hossain also sought investigation into alleged genocide and crime against humanity against Suu Kyi and six other Myanmar officials.

Six other officials of Myanmar are – Senior General Min AungHIaing, commander in chief of armed forces, Lt Gen KyawSwe, union minister for home affairs, NaiThetLwin, union minister of ethnic affairs, Lt Gen Ye Aung, union minister of border affairs, General Zaw Win, chief of national police, and Monk Ashin Wirathu, Leader of ‘969 Movement’ currently representing Ma Ba Tha (Committee for the protection of Nationality and Religion), according to the legal notice.    

Delwar Hossain sent the legal notice through Advocate Yousuf Ali yesterday saying that he will seek relief in appropriate court, if the chief prosecutor of ICT does not take steps to investigate into the seven Myanmar leaders for the offence of “Genocide and Crime against humanity perpetrated against the ethnic minority group of Rhingya in the vicinity of Magndow Township of the Republic of Union of Myanmar” within seven days.

He said in the legal notice that CNN and Al Jazeera reported that the Rohingyas were being raped tortured or saw their homes burned down and family members executed.

The ongoing attacks of the Myanmar government, military, police and security forces on and persecutions of the Rohingya population in Myanmar constitute genocide as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention) which is ratified by both Bangladesh and Myanmar, he said in the legal notice, adding that the Convention declares that genocide is a crime under the international law.

The legal notice said, “The State Bangladesh had an ‘erga omnes obligation’ under genocide convention to bring end to the crime against humanity. Therefore to discharge that obligation the state has promulgated the International Crimnes (Tribunals) Act 1973 (the ICT) making provision of the setting up of the tribunals for the prosecution and trial of the perpetrators of the international crimes including the crime against humanity”.