The Supreme Court Appellate Division yesterday continued hearing on the appeal of Jamaat-e-Islami chief Matiur Rahman Nizami that challenged the death sentence awarded to him by the International Crimes Tribunal for war crimes.
At the end of yesterday’s proceedings, the apex court adjourned hearing until today.
On the fourth day, Nizami’s lawyer SM Shahjahan read out the witness accounts from the paper book for three hours. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam and his deputy Ekramul Haque Tutul were present on behalf of the state.
The war crimes tribunal on October 29, 2014 sentenced Nizami to death after he was found guilty in eight of the 16 charges brought against him.
While delivering verdict, the tribunal noted that the crimes he had committed intended to “demean the human civilisation.”
“No punishment other than death [for Nizami] will be equal to the horrendous crimes for which the accused has been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt,” the tribunal said in its verdict.
Nizami filed the appeal with the SC on November 23, 2014.
Police arrested Nizami on June 29, 2010 in a criminal case and later showed him arrested in war crimes cases on August 2, 2010.