The Supreme Court (SC) will deliver its verdict today (Wednesday) on the petition of Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed seeing review of its judgment that upheld his death penalty for his crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, fixed the date yesterday (November 17) after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence. Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, counsel for Mojaheed, argued for the Jamaat leader, seeking his acquittal from the charges of crimes against humanity. On the other hand, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam stood for the state. Earlier, on November 2, a four-member Appellate Division bench, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, fixed yesterday (November 17) for the hearing on review petitions of condemned war criminals Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury. Besides, the bench turned down a plea filed by the BNP leader for taking testimony of several people in connection with the offenses he was convicted of by the International Crimes Tribunal.
On October 20, SC Chamber Judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain fixed November 2 for the hearing on the review petitions of Jamaat leader Mojaheed and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.
Mojaheed and Salauddin filed the review petitions with the SC against its verdicts that upheld their death penalties for crimes against humanity during the 1971 war on October 14. The SC on September 30 released the full verdicts awarding death penalty to them for their crimes against humanity during the war, clearing the way for the execution of the judgments. The court on June 16 upheld the death sentence awarded by the ICT-2 to Mojaheed for killing intellectuals during the war. The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on July 17, 2013 awarded Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed death penalty for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in collaboration with the Pakistan occupation forces, after finding the Al Badr boss guilty of five, out of seven, charges.
On August 11, 2013, condemned convict Mojaheed filed an appeal with the Appellate Division against his capital punishment awarded by the ICT-2.
Mojaheed was arrested on charge of hurting religious sentiment on June 29, 2010 and later he was shown arrested in a case filed for committing crimes against humanity on August 2 that year.
On July 29, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of the then International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) that had condemned BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to death for committing crimes against humanity, including rape and mass killing during the Liberation War 43 years ago.
On October 1, 2013, the then International Crimes Tribunal-1 found the BNP leader guilty of crimes against humanity during the war of liberation and condemned him to death. On October 29 the same year, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the ICT verdict.
