Jamaat leader Azhar allowed to appeal against death sentence

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has granted permission for Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam to appeal against his death sentence in a case filed over committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

A five-member appellate bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, passed the order on Wednesday (February 26).

April 22 has been scheduled for the hearing in the case.

Barrister Ehsan Abdullah Siddiqui moved for Azhar during the hearing in the court.

Earlier, the first day’s hearing of Azhar’s review petition against the death sentence ended on Tuesday.

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.