The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has begun hearing on war criminal Mir Quasem Ali’s appeal against the death sentence given to him by a special tribunal.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice SK Sinha began the hearing on Tuesday morning.
Mir Quasem’s lawyer SM Shahjahan started reading the charges from the paper book when the hearing began around 9am.
Earlier, the Supreme Court deferred until February 9 the hearing on the appeal.
On November 3, 2014, Mir Quasem, a commander of al-Badr during the war, was awarded capital punishment by the International Crimes Tribunal 2.
The tribunal handed down death penalty in two charges for killing seven people, including one Jasim Uddin, after abduction. He was awarded a total of 72-year imprisonment on other charges of abduction, conspiracy and planning. Four charges were not proved.
On November 30, 2014, Quasem Ali appealed to the Supreme Court against the death sentence.
Mir Quasem joined Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student wing of Jamaat, in 1967 while studying at Chittagong Collegiate School. He later became its Chittagong City unit general secretary.
He played an important role in forming al-Badr Bahini that orchestrated systematic killing of freedom fighters and intellectuals.