SC to hear Azharul’s appeal against death sentence Tuesday

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday the appeal filed by ATM Azharul Islam, former Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami, against the death sentence handed down in a case related to crimes against humanity, including genocide committed during the Liberation War.

An Appellate Division bench led by Justice Zubayer Rahman passed the order on Monday. Senior lawyer Ehsan A Siddiq presented the petition before the court, which was confirmed by lawyer Muhammad Shishir Manir.

Earlier, on February 26, the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, granted ATM Azharul Islam leave to appeal against the verdict in the crimes against humanity case.

Azharul Islam was charged with six counts of crimes against humanity committed in the Rangpur region during the 1971 Liberation War. The charges included nine types of offenses such as genocide, murder, abduction, rape, unlawful detention, torture, grievous injury, looting, and arson.

On December 30, 2014, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Azharul Islam to death for charges 2, 3, and 4. He was also handed a 25-year prison term for charge 5—abduction, torture, and rape—and a 5-year sentence for charge 6, related to torture.

Following an appeal against the tribunal’s verdict, the Appellate Division, on October 31, 2019, upheld the death sentence in a judgment delivered by a four-member bench led by then Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain. The court upheld the convictions on charges 2, 3, and 4 (by majority opinion), and charge 6, while acquitting the accused of charge 5.

Late senior lawyer Khandaker Mahbub Hossain represented the defense, while late Attorney General Mahbubey Alam appeared for the state during the proceedings.

The full text of the Appellate Division’s verdict was published on March 15, 2020. Subsequently, on July 19, 2020, Azharul Islam filed a review petition with the Appellate Division, presenting 14 arguments in a 23-page application.

After hearing the review petition, the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, on February 26, granted Azharul Islam leave to appeal against the death penalty in the crimes against humanity case. The court also directed the submission of a concise statement of appeal within two weeks. The appeal has since been prepared accordingly.