Bangladeshi SC acquits Islamist leader ATM Azharul Islam facing death sentence for 1971 war crimes

The death sentence was handed down to him by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

The Supreme Court overturned that order.

The verdict was delivered on Tuesday by a full bench of seven justices of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, following the hearing of Azhar’s appeal, reported  Dhaka Tribune.

The court ordered his immediate release if no other case is pending against him.

As per the chargesheet, he was accused of killing 1,256 people, abducting 17, and raping 13 women during the 1971 Liberation War in Rangpur area.

He is also accused of torturing people and setting several houses on fire.

The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced him to death on December 30, 2014, on five out of the nine charges, Dhaka Tribune reported.

The Jamaat-e-Islami leader submitted a petition to the Appellate Division claiming his innocence in 2015.

He even filed the review petition with the relevant branch of the Appellate Division in 2020.

Yunus's Interim Government Law Adviser Asif Nazrul Welcomes Verdict

Professor Muhammad Yunus's interim government Law Adviser Asif Nazrul welcomed the acquittal and credited it to the July-August Uprising in the South Asian country in 2024 which led to the ouster of former PM Sheikh Hasina-led government.

"The credit goes to the unfearable leadership of the July mass movement for creating an opportunity for this justice to be established," he wrote on Facebook.

"It is now our responsibility to protect this opportunity," he said.

Protest Against The Order

Several Left-leaning students of the  Dhaka University (DU) staged protests against the order on Tuesday evening.

Shimul Kumbhakar, general secretary of one faction of the Bangladesh Students' Union, told Dhaka Tribune: "Now they are claiming he supported Bangladesh. We condemn the interim administration's attempt to rewrite history after 54 years with such assertions."