Photo: Collected
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has set 22 April as the date for hearing a review petition against the death sentence of Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam. The Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed gave the order in this regard during the hearing of a review petition today (26 February). Azharul, a senior Jamaat leader, was sentenced to death in 2014 for his involvement in crimes against humanity, including rapes, murders, and genocide, committed during Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War.
His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2019, but it has not yet been carried out. Azharul, who was a leader of a pro-Pakistani armed group and Jamaat's student wing during the war, was convicted for his role in the murder of over 1,200 people in Rangpur. Azharul filed the review petition on 19 July 2020, submitting a 23-page appeal that outlined 14 legal arguments against the verdict.
Messenger/JRTarek
