bdnews24.com: The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued the death warrant for convicted war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali, paving the way for his execution. It came hours after the Supreme Court on Monday published the full copy of its verdict that upheld his death sentence for 1971 war-time atrocities nearly three months ago. The 244-page verdict was then sent to the tribunal in the afternoon, said the Appellate Division’s Additional Registrar Arunabha Chakrabarty. The three members of the tribunal led by Justice Anwarul Haque signed the death warrant around 6:45pm, said ICT Registrar Md Shahidul Alam Jhinuk. The ICT sent the warrant, wrapped in red cloth, to Dhaka Central Jail at 7:40pm and it reached around 8pm. It will now be forwarded to the Kashimpur prison in Gazipur where the former Al-Badr commander is currently lodged, Dhaka Central Jail Jailer Nesar Alam said. The Kashimpur jail authorities will read the death warrant to Mir Quasem once they get it. Preparations to execute the death sentence will be taken later on. The war criminal can now move the Appellate Division for a review of the decision He will also be able to seek the president’s pardon if the top appeals court turns him down. The government will initiate the process to execute him if he does not seek presidential clemency or the president refuses him pardon. The family of the convict will get a chance to see him for one last time before the hanging. The copies of the full verdict have been sent to the district magistrate and home ministry as well. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the defence will have to file the review petition within 15 days from getting the certified copy of the verdict. “The steps for the execution will depend on the review verdict. Mir Quasem’s son Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem told bdnews24.com the defence will seek a review after getting the copy of the full verdict. Mir Quasem was the Al-Badr’s third most important functionary after Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami and Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid. Bangladesh has executed both Nizami and Mujahid for 1971 war crimes. Mir Quasem, a terror during 1971 in Chittagong, has proved to be a shrewd businessman and politician. The 63-year old media tycoon pumped billions into the Jamaat since the mid-1980s to put it on a firm financial footing in Bangladesh. On Mar 8 this year, the five-strong appeals bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict confirming death for Mir Quasem. The four other members of the bench were Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Mohammad Bazlur Rahman. The tribunal sentenced Mir Quasem to death for the killing of young freedom fighter Jashim Uddin Ahmed and eight others, and to 72 years in prison for the acts of abduction and torture. The apex court upheld the punishment on eight counts, acquitted him on one, and changed the penalty in another. Mir Quasem, founding president of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, has been a member of the Jamaat’s central executive council and the organisation’s fifth most important leader. The tribunal in the verdict had described Dalim Hotel in Chittagong, where pro-liberation people were tortured and killed under his leadership, as the ‘death factory’. It had observed that Al-Badr members and Pakistani troops would take freedom fighters to Dalim Hotel to torture them until they were dead. Apart from Dalim Hotel, the Al-Badr, under his leadership, had set up camps for torture and killings at Dowsta Mohammad Panjabee Building – a leather depot at Asadganj, Dewan Hotel in Dewanhat area and Salma Manjil at Panchlaish. Police arrested Mir Quasem on Jun 17, 2013, in the offices of newspaper Naya Diganta less than two hours after the tribunal had issued a warrant for his arrest. He was indicted on Sep 5, 2014 and found guilty in November the same year.
