The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has set February 20 for hearing Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam’s petition, seeking a review of its judgment that upheld his death sentence. 

Azharul was convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-1) for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.

The four-member bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, passed the order as the case came up on today’s cause list. Senior jurist Barrister Abdur Razzaq represented Azharul in the courtroom.

The review petition, filed on July 19, 2020, raised 14 grounds for Azharul’s acquittal. The Supreme Court upheld his death sentence on October 31, 2019, with the full text of the judgment released on March 25, 2020.

In December 2014, ICT-1 sentenced Azharul to death for crimes committed in Rangpur during the War of Liberation. The tribunal found him guilty on five of six charges. Azharul filed his appeal against the conviction in January 2015.

BDST: 1620 HRS, JAN 23, 2025
MN/SMS