SC fixes Oct 10 to hear 2 war criminals’ pleas

The Supreme Court has fixed October 10 for hearing the appeals filed by convicted war criminals Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam and Jatiya Party leader Syed Mohammad Qaisar challenging their death penalty awarded to them by the International Crimes Tribunal-1.

The apex court today also asked the state and defence counsel to submit concise statements of the appeals before the court by August 24.

A concise statement contains the point on which the counsel places arguments before the court.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order as the apex court was scheduled to fix a date for hearing the appeals.

Read More: SC may fix date for hearing 2 appeals

Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Azharul on January 29, 2015, challenged the death penalty awarded to him by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 in December 2014.

In his appeal, Azharul claimed himself innocent and sought acquittal on the five charges he was found guilty.

Tribunal-1 on December 30, 2014 handed death penalty to Azharul on three out of six charges of crimes committed during the Liberation War.

The 62-year-old Jamaat leader was awarded imprisonment on two charges. The court, however, acquitted him of the other charge.

Qaisar, former state minister during the HM Ershad-led regime, on January 19, 2015, challenged the death penalty handed down to him by Tribunal-2 for his crimes in 1971.

His lawyer Joynul Abedin Tuhin filed an appeal with SC, which mentioned 56 reasons why the apex court should consider acquitting him of all war crime charges.

Qaisar was sentenced to death on December 23, 2014.