Wait for justice continues

After so many years, people are still waiting to see justice for the crimes committed during the Liberation War, as appeal hearings of 27 war-crime cases were halted for years at the Supreme Court (SC). 

When hearings resumed last year after more than three years, justice seekers were hopeful to complete the long-drawn trials.

But the process came to a halt again. No appeals were heard in the last one year, as the apex court is overloaded with pending cases and its regular functions slowed down due to the pandemic.

Now, the newly-appointed attorney general, AM Amin Uddin, said he will take initiative for hearing the appeals.

"I will inquire about the war-crime appeals pending with the Appellate Division. If they are ready for hearing, I will take an initiative in January for their hearing," he told this newspaper.

The last war-crime related appeal hearing took place at the Appellate Division of Supreme Court on December 3, 2019. Convicted war criminal Syed Mohammad Qaisar filed the appeal, challenging the death penalty handed to him by a war-crimes tribunal in 2014.

The Appellate Division has so far disposed of only nine such appeals, including the one Qaisar filed, in the last seven years.

Three appeals filed by former Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Ghulam Azam, former BNP minister Abdul Alim and former Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdus Sobhan, against their jail sentences, were declared "abated" by the apex court, as the convicted died while their appeals were pending with the court.

Two International Crimes Tribunals (ICT) have so far delivered verdicts in 41 cases filed in connection with crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the war.

After the verdicts, 39 appeals have been filed with the Appellate Division of SC.

An amendment to International Crimes (Tribunals) Act-1973 in February 2013 made a provision for disposing appeals against sentences in 60 days, raising hope that the SC would quickly deliver judgments.

But that hope died down when legal experts, including then law minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed, made it clear that the provision was merely a directive, and not mandatory to follow.

The Appellate Division is taking time for holding hearings and disposing appeals related to war crimes, as the court must deal with many other important cases, advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir, one of the defence lawyers, told The Daily Star.

He said the SC needs a long time for hearing and disposing a war-crime related appeal, and backlog of cases keeps growing.

Besides, court functions slowed down due to the pandemic, he said.

On July 20, a virtual bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, said it will hold hearing on the review petition of war criminal ATM Azharul Islam when its regular functions resume after the pandemic.

On July 19, Azharul, convicted Jamaat-e-Islami leader, filed the petition with the SC, seeking review of its verdict that upheld his death penalty for genocide and crimes against humanity during the war.

Attorney General AM Amin said the Appellate Division is running judicial functions virtually due to the pandemic, and that is why it is now mostly hearing and disposing old cases.

The nine war criminals whose appeals have already been settled by the top court are Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed, its leaders Delawar Hossain Sayedee, Muhammad Kamaruzaman, Abdul Quader Mollah, Mir Quasem Ali and ATM Azharul Islam, BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and former Jatiya Party leader Syed Mohammad Qaisar.

Among them, Nizami, Mojaheed, Kamaruzzaman, Quader Mollah, Quasem Ali and Salauddin were executed, after the apex court dismissed their review petitions against verdicts, confirming their death sentences.

Sayedee, whose imprisonment until death was affirmed by the SC, is now in jail.

The list of convicted war criminals whose appeals are now in the pipeline includes expelled Awami League leader of Brahmanbaria Mobarak Hossain, Azizur Rahman from Gaibandha and Saifuddin Ahmed from Noakhali.

The ICT-1 in July 2013 sentenced Ghulam Azam to a total of 90 years in jail on five different charges.

The ICT-2 in October 2013 sentenced former BNP minister Abdul Alim to imprisonment till death for committing genocide and crimes against humanity during the war.

War criminal Jamaat-e-Islami leader Maulana Abdus Subhan died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on February 14 this year.

On February 18, 2015, the ICT-2 sentenced Subhan to death for crimes against humanity and genocide during the war.