Photo: Collected
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has postponed the hearing of the review petition filed by Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam, challenging his death penalty for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War, until Wednesday. A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, passed the order on Tuesday.
Earlier, the Appellate Division had set Tuesday, February 25, as the date for hearing the review petition filed by ATM Azharul, seeking a reconsideration of the death sentence in a war crimes case.
The order was issued by a bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, on Sunday, February 23. Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman presented the matter for hearing. Also present in court were Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam and Azharul's defense lawyer, Mohammad Shishir Monir.
On July 19, 2020, the defence filed a 23-page review petition, seeking Azharul’s acquittal on 14 grounds.The Supreme Court upheld Azharul’s death sentence in its judgment on October 31, 2019. The full text of the judgment was released on March 25, 2020.
Azharul was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-1) on December 30, 2014, for his involvement in crimes against humanity in Rangpur during the Liberation War. The tribunal found him guilty on five of the six charges brought against him. He filed an appeal against his conviction on January 28, 2015.
Messenger/JRTarek
