Staff Reporter :The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence to Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid for his crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971.A four-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict dismissing the petition of the Jamaat leader. Other members of the bench were Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Hassan Foyez Siddique.This is the first time a politician, who served as a minister, is going to be executed for war crimes in Bangladesh.Mujahid was found guilty of leading Al Badr, a notorious pro-Pakistani militia that carried out ‘exterminations’ of Bangladeshi intellectuals including top writers, journalists and professors towards the end of the nine-month war in 71.On July 17 in 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 sentenced the Jamaat leader to death in connection with three charges, jail for life in one and five years in prison in another charge.Challenging the death penalty, Mujahid on August 11 last year filed the appeal with the apex court. The four-member bench fixed the date for the judgment after the hearing ended on May 27. ‘”he death penalty handed down to him has been upheld. The verdict may be executed within months,” Prosecutor Soumya Reza said.Attorney General Mahbu-e-Alam earlier said that no appeal was filed from the state side against ICT verdict. The state argued for upholding the death sentence to the Jamaat leader. “It’s a farcical trial. Mujahid is a victim of the government’s conspiracy,” Jamaat-e-Islami acting chief Moqbul Ahmed said in a statement yesterday after announcing a nationwide daylong strike for Wednesday [today].Counsel Khandaker Mahbub Hossain said, “We will file a review petition within 15 days of the publication of the full verdict…..We are not disappointed by the verdict. This is the judiciary. There’s no reason to be dissatisfied over the judicial process.” Defence lawyer Shishir Manir said that Mujahid’s name was not in the list of Al Badr commanders or activists published by the post-independence government. “We’ll seek a review of the Supreme Court judgment,” he said. Out of the seven charges levelled against him, the tribunal had found him guilty on five counts. He was given the death penalty in the first, sixth and seventh charges.Mujahid got death for the first of the seven charges – abduction and murder of journalist Sirajuddin Hossain – which was “merged” with the sixth charge related to the murder of intellectuals.The Appellate Division took into account the first and sixth charge separately. Yesterday’s verdict acquitted Mujahid from the abduction and murder of Sirajuddin Hossain but upheld the death penalty for the murder of intellectuals.The tribunal also had sentenced him to death for the seventh charge – murder and torture of Hindus – as well. The Appellate Division verdict commuted it to life in prison.He got life in prison for the fifth charge – confinement and torture of composer Altaf Mahmud, Jahir Uddin Jalal alias ‘Bichchhu Jalal’, Shafi Imam Rumi, Badiuzzaman, Abdul Halim Chowdhury Jewel and Magfar Ahmed Chowdhury Azad at an old MP Hostel in Dhaka’s Nakhalpara area.Everyone, except Jalal, was killed. The Supreme Court upheld the war crimes tribunal’s verdict on this charge.Mujahid was handed down a five-year prison term for the third charge – abduction and torture of Ranjit Nath alias Babu Nath of Faridpur’s Khabashpur. The final verdict upheld it.He was acquitted of the second and fourth charges that accused him of genocide in the Charvodrason Hindu village, and confinement and torture of one Abu Yusuf alias Pakhi. The appellate judges did not take the two charges into account for this reason.The verdict copy will be sent to the tribunal which will issue a death warrant. Jail authorities will read out the warrant to the convict when they get it.The defence can ask for a review within 15 days of the publication of the Supreme Court verdict. However, the court will only accept it if it feels there is a possibility of ‘denial of justice’.Mujahid’s case is the fourth to be resolved in the highest court. Jamaat’s assistant secretary general Kamaruzzaman was hanged on April 11 after the apex court delivered its final verdict on Nov 3 last year.The Appellate Division reduced Jamaat’s number two Delwar Hossain Sayedee’s sentence to life in prison on Sept 17, 2014. Another Jamaat leader Molla was given the death penalty. He was executed on Dec 12, 2013.Former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam and former BNP minister Abdul Alim died during hearing on their appeal. Besides, the hearing of the appeal by BNP Standing Committee Member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury’s appeal started yesterday [Tuesday].Meanwhile, people in his hometown Faridpur marched out on the streets in sheer jubilation to celebrate the verdict. Several people and freedom fighters came out in the Dhaka’s streets at the call of Ganajagaran Mancha, the movement pressing for maximum penalty of war criminals.Mujahid was brought to Dhaka from Narayanganj on Monday for a hearing on the August 21 grenade attack case. The Jamaat leader was kept in the Dhaka Central jail.It elicited jubilation and relief among war veterans and supporters of war crimes trial who had pushed for highest penalty for Mujahid who unleashed his reign of terror on his own people in 1971.He was a senior minister from 2001-2006 in a previous government led by then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. He was an influential leader in the opposition alliance until his arrest in 2011.
