Dhaka: Salauddin Quader Chowdhury (SQC), charged with committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War, today said his mother tongue is not Bengali but Chittagonian (local and traditional language of Chittagong).

The BNP lawmaker said this while replying to a question of prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1.

SQ Chowdhury, who had earlier submitted deposition for 9 days for himself as the first defence witness (DW), was cross-examined for the whole day, and the prosecutor concluded the quizzing at about 4.15 pm, making the tribunal to appreciate his effort as well as of the defence.

SQ Chowdhury, who had earlier claimed that he is not a Bengali, said this again today. "I was not born at a Bengali Muslim family but at a Muslim family in Chittagong town. I am not from a Bengali Muslim family but from Chittagonian Muslim family."

Acknowledging the facts that his late father Fazlul Quader Chowdhury contested in the election in 1970 from Convention Muslim League and was defeated by Awami League candidate Prof Md Khaled with a huge margin, the BNP lawmaker said he knows nothing more than that as he was not in Chittagong at that time.

SQ Chowdhury also rejected the claim of the prosecutor that his father along with his party leaders met Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan, the then governor general of East Pakistan on April 19, 1971, and expressed their support to the Pakistani army for their ongoing atrocities and also congratulated them for the genocide carried out on the innocent Bengalis on the fateful night of April 25, 1971.

Earlier on July 2, Barrister Fakhrul Islam, submitted 4 books as the defence documents. But today during the cross-examination, prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum pointed out that on those very documents, Chowdhury and his father's name came on several times as war criminals.

The flamboyant lawmaker, however, tried to make some recovery works, by saying the information on those books were nothing more than the personal views of the writers concerned.

Replying to a question of the prosecutor as to why he had not submitted any certificates supporting his educational degrees, Chowdhury in a little impudent manner, said, "Why here, I have not even submitted those to the election commission."

At that time, chief prosecutor Ghulam Arief Tipoo, who was present at the courtroom, was heard saying, "It seems you are above everything."

But SQ Chowdhury was quick to respond by saying, "you bet."

After his cross-examination, the first tribunal adjourned the hearing till July 8.

Son of the then Muslim League leader Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, SQ Chowdhury was particularly accused of masterminding the 1971 killing of Nutan Chandra Singha, a reputed philanthropist and industrialist in the port city of Chittagong, and he is said to have instigated the Pakistani army to kill Singha as they preferred to spare him.

In their opening statement, the prosecution said SQ Chowdhury along with his father created havoc in Chittagong, particularly in Raozan and Rangunia, in 1971 massacring many Hindus in Hindupara of Madhya Gohira and Jagat Malla para.

SQ Chowdhury was indicted on April 4, 2012 on 23 charges of crimes against humanity.

Ends/AMA/04/07/13