ATM Azharul Islam, a leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, has been acquitted of the death sentence previously handed down in a case related to crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
The Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and comprising seven justices, unanimously accepted Azharul’s appeal.
The court overturned both the 2014 verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal that sentenced him to death and its own earlier decision which had upheld that sentence.
The court also ordered his immediate release, provided there are no other cases pending against him.
This is the first instance in which someone convicted of wartime crimes has been acquitted by the Appellate Division following a review petition.
Earlier, on December 30, 2014, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Azharul to death for his alleged role in crimes committed during the war.
He filed an appeal on January 28, 2015. The Appellate Division issued its judgment on the appeal on October 30, 2019, which maintained the death sentence. The full verdict was published on March 15, 2020.
Following the publication of the full verdict, Azharul submitted a review petition on July 19, 2020. On February 26 of this year, the court granted leave to proceed with the review and instructed the submission of a concise statement within two weeks. After the hearings concluded, today’s verdict brought his acquittal.
Azharul was originally arrested from his residence in Moghbazar on August 22, 2012. He has been in prison since.
During the final hearings, he was represented by lawyers Mohammad Shishir Monir and Syed Md. Raihan Uddin.
The state was represented by Additional Attorney General Anik R. Haque and Prosecutor Gazi M.H. Tamim.
