1971 Warfare Case: Bangladesh Supreme Court release Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam
The Supreme Court of Bangladesh on Tuesday released the ATM Azharul Islam, the senior leader of Jamaat-e-Islam, at the end of the historic case of crimes against humanity during the 1971 liberation struggle. Earlier, he was sentenced by the International Crime Tribunal (ICT).
The seven -member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Syed Rafad Ahmed, issued the verdict, “Ajarul Islam has been acquitted of all allegations.”
The state prosecutor said the court had ordered the prison administration that they should be immediately released if they were not arrested in any other case. The government lawyer made it clear that there was no Supreme Court or an international site to change this decision by the Supreme Court in Bangladesh, which is final.
What accusations are
73 -Iyer Ajarul Islam supported Pakistan in 1971 that he was accused of assassination, murder and rape. In 2014, he was sentenced to death by the International Crime Tribunal.
In 2019, the Supreme Court’s Appeals Division confirmed the decision, and Islam filed a legal review on 14th legal basis in 2020.
Great regret in the political environment
Welcome to the decision, Asif Nasrul, a former interim government legal adviser and professor, said it was the result of last year’s student rebellion, which withdrew the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League on August 5.
Nasrul wrote on social media, “The debt for this new justice goes to July-August leadership.”
Many have been executed in the past
In 2009, the Bangladesh government began lawsuits against Pakistani military allies for the 1971 war crimes. Under this, six senior Jama’at-e-Islami leaders and BNP leader were executed.
According to the report, now Sheikh Hasina and some members of his cabinet in the same Tribunal are investigating crimes against humanity. This allegation was related to last year’s popular oppression.
In response to the verdict, Islam’s lawyer Shishir Moniery said, “My customers were fortunate when my customers were still alive. The remaining five leaders have already been executed.”
