By issuing death warrant against convicted war criminal Abdul Quader Molla, the process has moved one more step towards his execution.
The International Crimes Tribunal yesterday issued the warrant after it had received copy of the full verdict given by the Appellate Division on September 17 on two appeals against the tribunal verdict.
Around 12:30pm, tribunal Registrar AKM Nasir Uddin told reporters that the warrant had been sent to the home ministry, the Dhaka district magistrate and the Dhaka Central Jail authorities.
He said: “We have already received the Appellate Division judgement and all the documents we sent earlier. On receiving those, the documents were submitted to the tribunal 2.”
Around 4pm, Arunabh Chakrabarty, deputy registrar of the tribunal, took the death warrant wrapped in a traditional red cloth (as mentioned in the law) to the prison authorities.
After that, the tribunal registrar confirmed the reporters that the warrant to execute Quader Molla’s death sentence had been sent to the jail authorities. When asked about the next proceedings, Nasir said the tribunal had no further involvement after sending the warrant. “Now it is the duty and decision of the jail authorities.”
Jail Super Forman Ali around 4:30pm said he had received the warrant. He would take the next step on order of the home ministry.
The government claims there is no scope for filing a review petition against an Appellate Division verdict, but the defence maintains that they can appeal according to the constitution.
Protesting the death warrant, Jamaat yesterday declared a countrywide daylong shutdown for today terming the move “a planned political killing.”
On September 17, the Appellate Division sentenced Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Quader Molla to death overturning his life-term awarded by the tribunal 2 on February 5. The full verdict was released on Thursday. On that evening, the convict was shifted from Kashimpur Jail to a condemned cell of the Dhaka Central Jail.
Jail authorities said Quader Molla remained unmoved when he was told that a death warrant had been issued against him. The convict was yet to express his desire to seek the president’s clemency.
Officials of the jail and the Dhaka District Administration said they were prepared to execute the death sentence.
“Although we have not yet received any formal directive regarding the execution of the death sentence against of Quader Molla, the jail authorities are prepared to smoothly implement any order from the higher authorities,” said Assistant IG (prisons) Zahir Uddin Babar.
Meanwhile, senior defence counsels including Abdur Razzak, Tajul Islam and Shishir Monir pleaded to the tribunal to meet their client at the jail.
In his brief reaction, Tajul yesterday said: “We have not got the certified copy of the full verdict. So we cannot take any decision.”
He added that if the government had tried to execute the verdict in the meantime, “then it will go against the constitution and the laws of the country. And it may be identified as a killing.”
Hasan Jamil, son of Quader Molla, said nobody from the government had told them anything. He claimed that in the afternoon they had told the Supreme Court registrar about filing a review petition against the Appellate Division order.
AKM Shamsul Islam, registrar of the Supreme Court, denied the claim and said: “I am not informed about this. If they want to submit a review petition, they have to do it with the court concerned and during the office hour.”
Quader Molla’s lawyers, however, maintain that there is a provision to review the Supreme Court’s ruling, which raised his sentence from a life term to death sentence.
Tajul claimed that the Appellate Division never increased life-term to death penalty, “so we have enough chance to file the petition.”
On the other hand, prosecutor Syed Haider Ali said after release of the full verdict what left are the routine works. Regarding review petition, he said it was a matter of the government as per section 20(3) of the tribunal act.
MK Rahman, coordinator of the tribunal, said Quader Molla could only seek the president’s clemency and there was no scope for a review after the Appellate Division had given its order.