Md. Mobarak Hossain from Akhaura in Brahmanbaria has been acquitted of crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War, following a verdict by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Mobarak had appealed the International Crimes Tribunal’s (ICT) 2014 conviction 11 years ago. A bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed accepted the appeal and overturned the earlier verdict, effectively clearing Mobarak of all charges.
According to Mobarak’s legal team, this marks the first instance of an acquittal in a war crimes case through appeal in Bangladesh`s history.
The appeal was filed on December 18, 2014. Hearings began on July 8 this year, and the court concluded proceedings on July 22, reserving the verdict for July 30. The verdict was delivered at approximately 10:45 AM on Wednesday.
Senior lawyers SM Shahjahan and Imran A. Siddique represented Mobarak, while Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim appeared on behalf of the ICT.
In 2014, the ICT-1 had sentenced Mobarak to death for one charge and life imprisonment for another, finding him guilty of two out of five charges related to war crimes. He was acquitted of the remaining three charges at that time.
The tribunal verdict had stated that Mobarak was involved in Jamaat-e-Islami politics during the war and later became a union-level leader of the party. He eventually joined the Awami League after independence.
Commenting on Wednesday’s ruling, SM Shahjahan told media “Mobarak was sentenced to death for the first charge and life imprisonment for the third. He has now been acquitted of both. The tribunal verdict has been nullified. Unless there are other cases against him, there is no legal barrier to his release.”
