Acquittal of Jamaat's Azhar: Full verdict in crimes against humanity case released
The initial charges against Azhar involved 6 counts of crimes against humanity in the Rangpur region, including genocide, murder, abduction, rape, torture, and arson committed during the 1971 Liberation War
The full text of the Appellate Division verdict acquitting death row convict and Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam of charges related to crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War was released today (11 May).
His lawyer, Mohammad Shishir Manir, confirmed the development to The Business Standard.
The release follows a landmark judgment delivered on 27 May last year, by a seven-member full bench of the Appellate Division, led by then-chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed.
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The apex court granted Azharul Islam's appeal, overturning his previous death sentence.
In its judgment, the court scrapped the 2014 verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) and a subsequent Appellate Division order that had upheld the capital punishment.
The court also directed the authorities to release him immediately, provided there were no other pending cases against him.
Following the order, the Appellate Division's directive was sent to the ICT and subsequently forwarded to the prison authorities.
ATM Azharul Islam was eventually released from the custody of Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj, while undergoing treatment at Bangladesh Medical University.
In the 13th general election held this February, the Jamaat leader was elected as the member of parliament for Rangpur-2.
During the court proceedings, senior lawyer Ehsan A Siddiq and Mohammad Shishir Manir represented the petitioner, while Prosecutor Gazi Monawar Hossain Tamim appeared for the ICT.
The initial charges against Azharul involved six counts of crimes against humanity in the Rangpur region, including genocide, murder, abduction, rape, torture, and arson.
On 30 December 2014, the ICT sentenced him to death for three charges and handed down 30 years of imprisonment for two other charges.
While a four-member Appellate Division bench led by then-chief justice Syed Mahmud Hossain initially upheld the death penalty on 31 October 2019, Azharul Islam filed a 23-page review petition in July 2020 citing 14 grounds for reconsideration.
After a lengthy legal process, the bench led by then-chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed allowed the appeal on 26 February, culminating in the final acquittal.
