The Appellate Division has acquitted former Awami League leader Mobarak Hossain in a case over crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War.
The verdict came on Wednesday from a five-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, following the hearing of an appeal against a tribunal ruling.
Senior lawyer Barrister Imran Abdullah Siddique represented Mobarak in court, while Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim stood for the state.
Earlier, on November 24, 2014, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 had sentenced Mobarak to death for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.
The tribunal had ordered the maximum punishment—death by hanging.
Out of five charges brought against Mobarak Hossain, two were proven. He was sentenced to death for one and life imprisonment for the other.
The verdict stated that Mobarak was a member of the Razakar force in Brahmanbaria during the 1971 Liberation War.
Mobarak later appealed against the tribunal’s ruling. The Appellate Division began hearing his appeal on July 8 this year, in which he sought an acquittal from the death sentence in the war crimes case.
After concluding the hearing on July 22, the court set July 30 for the verdict.
Notably, Mobarak served as the organizing secretary of the Mogra union unit of the Awami League in Akhaura upazila, Brahmanbaria, until 2012.