Staff Reporter :The death warrant for condemned convict Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former Al-Badr commander Mir Quasem Ali for his crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971 reached the Dhaka Central Jail on Monday.The Jail Super received a copy of the death warrant in the evening, said International Crimes Tribunal registrar Shahidul Alam Jhinuk. Besides, two copies of the death warrant were sent to the Home Ministry and Dhaka District Magistrate, he said. Now, the death warrant will be read out to the war crimes convict, Jhinuk said.A three-member bench of the tribunal, led by Justice Anwarul Haq, signed the death warrant in the afternoon. The other members of the tribunal are Justice Shahinur Islam and Justice Mohammad Suhrawardi. Earlier in the day, the Appellate Division of Supreme Court has released its full verdict upholding the death sentence of Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former Al-Badr commander Mir Quasem Ali for ear crimes. A five-member bench, led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, delivered the verdict confirming death for Mir Quasem on March 8 this year. 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. With the release of the full text of the verdict, Mir Quasem Ali, the chief financier of Jamaat-e-Islami has only option to seek a review of the apex court’s verdict within 15 days. On November 2, 2014, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 had sentenced him death penalty on two charges and jails on different terms on eight other charges. He later challenged the verdict at the Supreme Court. The apex court upheld his death penalty on March 8 this year. The decision of the top court came after the 16 months the ICT-2 had delivered the verdict on a number of charges, including mass killing and tortures, at port city of Chittagong during the War of Independence in 1971.Attorney general Mahbubey Alam said that the verdict would reach the prison authorities in due process through the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), which had originally handed down the death penalty.Mir Quasem Ali, central executive member of Jamaat-e-Islami was convicted for running Al-Badr, an auxiliary militia force that had collaborated the killing of people at torture cell at Dalim Hotel in Chittagong. Apart from Dalim Hotel, the Al-Badr, under his leadership, had set camps for torture till death at Dost Mohammad Panjabee building — a leather depot at Asadganj, Dewan Hotel in Dewanhat area and Salma Manjil at Panchlaish. Mir Quasem Ali, the founding president of the Islami Chhatra Shibir was the president of Chittagong town unit of the Islami Chhatra Sangha, student wing of Jamaat, till November 6, 1971. He was then made general secretary of the East Pakistan Chhatra Sangha. He went into hiding after Pakistan occupation forces and their local collaborators surrendered on December 16, 1971 and reemerged as a Jamaat-e-Islami leader. Police arrested Mir Quasem on June 17, 2013, from Naya Diganta newspaper office less than two hours after the tribunal had issued arrest warrant. He was indicted on September 5, 2014 and found guilty. The tribunal had sentenced him to death for the killing of young freedom fighter Jasim Uddin Ahmed and eight others and 72 years in prison for abduction and torture. The copy of the 244-pages full verdict was released after signing of all five members of the Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha. The Appellate Division started hearing the appeal on February 9, 2016.
