Jamaat leader Azhar’s review hearing adjourned till Wednesday

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court postponed the hearing of the review petition filed by Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam challenging his death penalty for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War, till Wednesday (February 26).

A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, passed the order on Tuesday (February 25).

Barrister Ehsan Abdullah Siddique was present on behalf of the Jamaat leader.

Earlier, on February 20, the Supreme Court fixed Tuesday for hearing the review, challenging the judgment that upheld Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam’s death sentence in a war crimes case.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Azharul to death on December 30, 2014, in five out of the nine charges. On January 28, 2015, the death-row convict submitted a petition to the Appellate Division, claiming his innocence.

Later, on July 19, 2020, Azharul Islam filed the review petition with the relevant branch of the Appellate Division.

Following an appeal hearing, the Appellate Division, under a bench led by then-Chief Justice Syed Mahmud, upheld the death penalty in a verdict delivered on October 23, 2019.

The full text of the Appellate Division’s verdict was released on March 15, 2020, after which ATM Azhar submitted the review petition.