Govt appeal for Mollah's death penalty tenable

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam yesterday argued that the government appeal seeking death penalty for jailed Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah for his war crimes was acceptable under the amended International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, since the amendment was brought with retrospective effect.
The appeal against the inadequate sentence of the Jamaat leader is tenable, he told the Supreme Court, which was hearing for the 15th day Mollah's appeal seeking acquittal in the case filed for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
Earlier, Mollah's lawyer Abdur Razzaq told the apex court that the appeal submitted by the government was not tenable since the amendment was brought to the ICT act after International Crimes Tribunal-2 had delivered the verdict against his client.
On February 5, the tribunal-2 jailed Mollah for life after finding him guilty of five wartime criminal offences. The government amended the act on February 18 clearing its way for filing appeal with the SC against the tribunal's inadequate sentencing of a convict.
On March 3, the government appealed to the SC seeking death penalty for Quader Mollah for each of the six charges he faced at the ICT-2. The following day, March 4, Mollah filed a separate appeal with the SC seeking acquittal from all six charges.
After concluding yesterday's proceedings, the Appellate Division of the SC fixed today for further hearing on the appeal.