The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned until May 8 the hearing on a petition filed by condemned war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam seeking a review of the court’s earlier decision upholding his death sentence.
The seven-member full bench chaired by chief justice Syed Refaat adjourned the hearing.
Azhar’s lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir sought his client’s acquittal arguing that the conviction was secured in violation of the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973.
He contended that the trial, held during the Awami League regime, failed to meet internationally recognised standards of due process for war crimes proceedings.
Shishir Manir argued that Azharul Islam was sentenced to death on political grounds and in the absence of any eyewitness linking him directly to war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.
Continuing his submissions in the appeal hearing, Shishir told the court that the prosecution’s case lacked credible evidence, and that witness testimonies regarding Azhar’s presence and participation in the alleged crimes were riddled with contradictions.
He asserted that the tribunal convicted Azhar despite significant inconsistencies in witness accounts and a lack of direct proof, raising questions about the fairness of the verdict.
Shishir is expected to conclude his arguments on May 8.
Following his submissions, prosecutor Gazi Monwar Hossain Tamim who previously conducted war crimes cases against several convicted Jamaat leaders as a defence counsel will present the government’s rebuttal on behalf of the tribunal reconstructed under the interim government.
Azhar’s legal team moved to revive the appeal after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted on August 5, 2024 amid a student-led mass uprising.
Azhar filed a 23-page review petition on July 19, 2020, citing 14 legal grounds for reconsideration.
The Appellate Division had on October 31, 2019 upheld Azhar’s death sentence by majority verdict, affirming four out of five charges brought against him.
The full judgment was released on March 15, 2020, paving the way for the review.
Azharul Islam, a former president of Rangpur’s Carmichael College unit of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, was allegedly the Al-Badr commander in Rangpur during the liberation war in 1971.
He was convicted by the tribunal on December 30, 2014, for committing atrocities including mass killings, abductions, and torture during the country’s liberation war.
