'Mockery of justice': Gonotantrik Odhikar bashes Asif Nazrul, questions judiciary’s independence over Azharul’s acquittal

The Gonotantrik Odhikar Committee has strongly condemned the recent Supreme Court verdict that overturned the war crimes conviction of former Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam, calling it a "mockery of justice" and a blow to the spirit of the 1971 Liberation War.

In a statement issued by its executive council today (30 May), the platform, which advocates democratic rights and freedom of expression, also criticised Law Adviser Asif Nazrul for supporting the verdict to acquit Azhar, who was earlier sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for his involvement in war crimes during Bangladesh's Liberation War.

"In the Appellate Division's review hearing, an identified war criminal and previously sentenced to death by the ICT, former Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azhar has been declared completely innocent and acquitted. The adviser to the Ministry of Law has described this review verdict as justice in his statement.

"We, the Gonotantrik Odhikar Committee, want to state that declaring an identified war criminal completely innocent and acquitting him is not justice, but rather an example of political influence over the judiciary," the statement reads.

The statement was endorsed by Professor Anu Muhammad, Dr Haroon ur Rashid, Seema Dutta, Dr Samina Luthfa Nitra, Abdullah Al Kafi, Fakhruddin Kabir Atique, Dr Maha Mirza, Afzal Hossain, and Marzia Probha, among others.

The committee states, "During the 1971 war, ATM Azhar was the district committee president of Islami Chhatra Sangha in Rangpur and the head of the Al-Badr force. ATM Azhar and his party, Jamaat-e-Islami, along with Al-Badr and Islami Chhatra Sangha, were organisationally aligned with Pakistan in the Liberation War and were involved in genocide, rape, and crimes against humanity.

"The historical basis of Jamaat-e-Islami's involvement in genocide during the Liberation War proves that ATM Azhar, due to his organisational role, was a participant in this genocide."

However, the statement points out that from the beginning, the ICT did not adhere to the fundamental principles of genocide trials. "Instead of prosecuting Jamaat-e-Islami, Al-Badr, Al-Shams, and Islami Chhatra Shibir as organisations, they conducted trials on an individual basis, which does not follow the systematic approach of historical genocide trials worldwide."

"Surprisingly, despite the interim government labelling the tribunal's judicial process as flawed, they proceeded with an appeal review within the same flawed judicial framework in pursuit of justice."

The committee says, "We want to state that the way the Awami League government initiated this flawed war crimes trial process to serve its narrow partisan interests, the interim government has now adopted the same approach to protect the interests of Jamaat-e-Islami," it adds.

It further criticises the interim government, alleging a severe conflict of interest in the prosecution appointment process.

"The interim government has structured the ICT in such a way that the chief prosecutor and other state prosecutors have previously served as defence lawyers for war crime accused individuals. As a result, a 'conflict of interest' has arisen in the verdict of this case, which has influenced the judgment," it states.

Moreover, it notes that the current state prosecutors have refused to take responsibility for the previous prosecution's actions, which "not only constitutes professional misconduct but also weakens the entire judicial process."

"If the previous prosecution made mistakes, it was the responsibility of the current prosecution to correct them and defend the state," the committee says.

The committee statement goes on to say, "In such a situation, the acquittal of the accused as 'completely innocent' is a mockery in the name of justice. The July uprising created aspirations for democracy, justice, and an independent judiciary, but this verdict stands against those aspirations and effectively ensures that the July massacre will not be prosecuted."

Beyond the courtroom, the committee also condemned recent attacks on peaceful student protesters allegedly by activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir, retaliating against demonstrations by democratic student groups opposing Azhar's acquittal.

"The Chhatra Shibir is repeating the way the Chhatra League has been attacking ordinary student movements for the past 15 years. It has been seen that female students have been targeted and attacked. Not only that, the Chhatra Shibir is continuously threatening a female student from Sylhet for speaking about fair demands.

"The continuity of these incidents proves that the Chhatra Shibir organisation, which has grown under the umbrella of the Chhatra League for the past 15 years, continues to carry Awami fascism in its thinking and behaviour."

The committee demanded an immediate restructuring of the ICT to correct its "procedural and ideological failures," and called for the prosecution of all political organisations — including Jamaat and the AL — responsible for acts of genocide and political violence.

It also called for legal action against those responsible for the recent campus violence

The Ganatantrik Odhikar Committee was formed in August 2024 – following the 2024 mass uprising that led to the ouster of the AL-led government – with Prof emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury as the convener to advocate for democratic rights and freedom of expression of people.