War Crimes Trial: ‘Azhar may file review petition today’

Convicted war criminal ATM Azharul Islam's lawyers  have prepared  a 23-page review  petition containing 14 grounds for seeking reconsideration of the Supreme Court verdict, that upheld his death penalty for his involvement in genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

The review petition will be filed with the apex court today if the SC administration releases the certified copy of the verdict, Advocate Shishir Manir, a defence lawyer for the Jamaat-e-Islami leader, told The Daily Star yesterday.

"We have prepared the review petition for him, based on the Advocate On Record certificate over the Appellate Division verdict, including 14 grounds on which the Appellate Division may consider to exempt him from the charges brought against him," Manir  said, adding that the SC administration is scheduled to give them the certified copy today.

"One of the four judges of the Appellate Division bench has disagreed with other three judges who upheld the death penalty.  The reasons assigned by the judge in passing dissenting opinions have been included as the main grounds of the review petition," he added.

Citing the grounds, Manir also said  the statements of the witnesses do not fully support the incidents of charges brought against Azharul.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam earlier told The Daily Star that his office will oppose the review petition when the Appellate Division holds hearing on it.

If the SC dismisses the review petition, Azhharul will have no option but to seek clemency from the president confessing to his guilt, he said.

If the SC dismisses the review petition and the president rejects the mercy petition [if he seeks review and mercy], there will be no legal bar for the authorities concerned to execute the death sentence, the attorney general said.

The SC on October 31 last year upheld his death sentence. A four-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, by a majority view delivered the verdict around five years after the International Crimes Tribunal-1 handed down capital punishment to Azharul for crimes committed in Rangpur in 1971.

It upheld four charges against Azhar, but acquitted him of another. The SC released the full text of the verdict on March 15 this year, clearing the way for Azharul to move a petition seeking review of the verdict.

Azharul (67),  who is now in Gazipur's Kashimpur Jail-2, was the commander of notorious Al-Badr force and president of Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat -- a party which opposed the country's liberation -- in Rangpur during the 1971 war.

Law Minister Anisul Huq earlier told The Daily Star that the government would execute the apex court verdict on completion of all legal procedures.