Tureen Afroz removed as ICT prosecutor for misconduct

Barrister Tureen Afroz has been removed from her post as a prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal on Monday.

The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliament Affairs issued an order in this regard today, saying she has been removed for "breaching discipline, professional conduct and committing serious misconduct".

An allegation was brought against Tureen that she held a secret meeting with an accused of war crimes Oahidul Haque in Olive Garden restaurant of Dhaka on November 19, 2017.
 
On November 18, she called Oahidul, also a former director general of the National Security Intelligence, for a meeting. 

Farabi, Tureen's assistant, gave a hint of exchanging money under the table at the meeting. Tureen also handed over all the case documents of war crimes allegations against Oahidul.

Oahidul recorded the conversation between him and Tureen. Upon arresting him, the investigation agency and prosecution got a copy of that.

The International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Ghulam Arief Tipoo sent the audio records – a telephone conversation of around four minutes and the record of a three-hour meeting – to the law ministry asking it to launch an investigation. 

"Shreds of evidence proves the allegations levelled against her. We have a record of the conversation between her (Tureen Afroz) and the accused," Law Minister Anisul Huq told reporters at his secretariat office on Monday.

Oahidul was arrested on April 24 last year for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971. The war crimes tribunal sent him to jail the next day. 

Tureen was given the responsibility to handle the case on November 11 after the investigation into the case began in 2017. 

About her removal, Tureen said: "I don't know whether any probe committee was formed. Even, I was not given a chance for self-defence."

"I will explain myself to the prime minister."