Nizami seeks review of death sentence

Convicted war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami yesterday sought review of the Supreme Court verdict that upheld his death penalty for war crimes.

He submitted the review petition through his lawyers, praying to the apex court to acquit him of all the charges on which he was found guilty, his son Nazid Momen told The Daily Star.

Nizami mentioned 46 grounds in the 70-page petition so that the Appellate Division of the SC considers his prayer, he said.

After the review petition was filed, his principal lawyer Khandker Mahbub Hossain told reporters that they are hopeful Nizami would get acquittal in the review if the documents and evidence they have submitted are properly reviewed.

He said that the Jamaat leader had no participation in any crimes and therefore, sentencing him to death would be contrary to justice. He claimed the Appellate Division has not properly evaluated the evidence and documents in his appeal.

Additional Attorney General Murad Reza told reporters that the state side will take steps for the hearing of Nizami's review petition quickly. 

Nizami filed the petition 14 days after the SC released the full judgment.

According to the rule, a war crimes convict can file a review petition within 15 days after receiving the full verdict.

The SC on January 6 this year upheld the verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 that sentenced Nizami to death for crimes against humanity during the country's 1971 Liberation War.

Two months later, on March 15, the apex court released the full verdict. The ICT issued death warrant for him hours after the SC released its full verdict.

The following day, the jail authorities read out the judgment before the convict.

In October 2014, the ICT-1 handed down capital punishment to Nizami, the leader of infamous Al-Badr Bahini, for his wartime offences.