“Nixon and Kissinger’s Forgotten Shame,” by Gary J. Bass (Op-Ed, Sept. 30), about genocide in Bangladesh, is a searing reminder that evil was perpetrated four decades ago and that justice is overdue. I disagree with Mr. Bass, however, when he suggests that the war-crimes tribunal doesn’t meet due process standards. The proceedings use the “best practices” of similar tribunals around the world and have established a number of good practices for domestic tribunals trying internationally defined crimes.

The Bangladesh government has repeatedly updated the tribunal’s procedures to add rights for defendants and to make sure the proceedings are open and transparent to the public and the media. It waited two years before impaneling the tribunal in 2010 to make sure that its procedures were sound and that the evidence against the accused was strong. Due process rights are so extensive that the cross-examination of one prosecution witness lasted 41 days.

The trials and their verdicts have been solid and fair.

SWAPAN KUMAR SAHA
Press Minister
Embassy of Bangladesh
Washington, Oct. 1, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/opinion/trials-in-bangladesh.html?_r=0