The Supreme Court has granted permission for Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam to appeal against his death sentence in a case related to crimes against humanity.
The apex court fix 22nd April for the hearing. A five-member appellate bench, led by the chief justice, issued the order on Wednesday.
Barrister Ehsan Abdullah Siddiqui represented Azhar, assisted by senior lawyers SM Shahjahan, Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir and Barrister Najib Momen.
Earlier, the first day's hearing of Azhar’s review petition against the death sentence concluded on Tuesday.
Before that, on 23rd February, the Appellate Division set Tuesday for the review hearing of the case. The hearing was scheduled by a bench led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam.
Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman presented the matter in court, with International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam and defence lawyer Shishir Manir in attendance.
The attorney general informed the court that Azhar's review petition had been on the cause list for 20th February but had not been heard.
He emphasized the necessity of a hearing, leading the court to set the new date.
Previously, on January 23, the Appellate Division had postponed the hearing to February 20. A four-member appellate bench led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed issued the order, deferring the hearing due to the absence of one judge.
On October 23, 2019, the Appellate Division upheld Azhar's death sentence for crimes against humanity.
The verdict was delivered by a bench led by the then-Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain. He later filed a review petition against the ruling.
ATM Azharul was charged with six crimes against humanity, including the massacre of 1,256 people, the kidnapping of 17 people, the rape of one woman, the detention, torture and serious injuries of 13 people, and the looting and arson of hundreds of houses in the Rangpur region during the Liberation War. The tribunal sentenced him to death on five charges except for number 1.
