Defence gets 50 days to submit statement

The Supreme Court yesterday asked counsel for Jamaat leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman to submit by September 17 a concise statement on an appeal against the Jamaat leader's death sentence for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.
This means Kamaruzzaman, the senior assistant secretary general of Jamaat, has 50 days to submit the statement, as the court will go on a 44-day vacation from August 2.
The court will begin hearings on the appeal after receiving the statement from the defence.
On May 9, International Crimes Tribunal-2 sentenced the 61-year-old Jamaat leader to death after finding him guilty of five of the seven charges brought against him.
On June 6, Kamaruzzaman appealed to the SC against the verdict and sought acquittal.
Earlier in the day, defence counsel Abdur Razzaq prayed to the bench to give him two weeks' time for submitting the statement after the court reopens on September 15.
Deputy Attorney General Ekramul Haque Tutul told The Daily Star that the government had already submitted a concise statement on the appeal to the SC on July 9.