The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is all set to deliver its verdict today on an appeal filed by BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, challenging his death penalty awarded for committing genocide and systematic killings during the Liberation War in 1971.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha will deliver the verdict at 9am. Other members of the bench are Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Hasan Foez Siddique.
The bench had fixed the date on July 7 after completing hearing on the appeal for 13 days. It will be the fifth verdict of the Appellate Division in war crimes appeals cases.
The International Crimes Tribunal 1 found notorious war criminal Salauddin, 66, guilty of nine of the 23 charges brought against him by the prosecution. On October 1, 2013, the tribunal sentenced him to death on four charges, 20 years in jail on three and five years in jail on two other charges.
Salauddin, who had served then prime minister Khaleda Zia as her parliamentary affairs adviser during 2001-06, was given death penalty for his involvement in two acts of genocide, the killing of Nutan Chandra Singha, and Awami League leader Mozaffar Ahmed and his son in Raozan of Chittagong.
The convict, however, refuted all the charges claiming that he had been in Pakistan from March 29, 1971 to April 20, 1974, and three other defence witnesses echoed him. His counsel reiterated the claim during the appeal hearing.
On the other hand, seven people including Salauddin’s family members, lawyer and manager were sued for their alleged involvement in leaking the draft verdict from the tribunal’s computer. The Dhaka’s Cyber Tribunal is set to hold the indictment hearing on September 20.
Supreme Court lawyer Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, also an adviser to the BNP chief, placed arguments for the convict at the apex court while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state.
Mahbubey prayed to the court to uphold the death penalty as the charges brought against Salauddin had been proven beyond reasonable doubt. After the hearing, the attorney general hoped that the apex court would uphold the death penalty.
On the other hand, defence counsel Mahbub claimed that most of the prosecution witnesses had not been eye witnesses and that they gave hearsay statements. He hoped that his client would be acquitted.
The defence started placing arguments on July 5. Earlier the state concluded their argument part on July 1. The court started holding the hearing on June 16.
The former BNP lawmaker from Raozan, Chittagong appealed against the tribunal verdict on October 29, 2013. He was arrested on December 16, 2010, and shown arrested in war crimes case on December 19 the same year. The tribunal indicted him on April 4, 2012.
Some 2,000 police members were deployed at Raozan, Rangunia, Sitakunda, Hathazari, Fatikchhari upazilas yesterday to avert any untoward incidents centring the verdict, Superintendent of Police Hafiz Akhtar told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Along with the police, we sought two platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh personnel in the upazilas to be deployed from tomorrow [this] morning,” said the SP adding that the police in other upazilas were too put on high alert.
Gonojagoron Moncho, a platform of youths demanding death penalty for all war criminals, has been observing sit-in at Shahbagh since Friday. On the other hand, Salauddin’s lawyer Mahbub has alleged that the Moncho’s demanding to uphold his client’s death penalty was contemptuous.
In its verdict, then tribunal chairman Justice ATM Fazle Kabir said: “We are of the unanimous view that the accused deserves the highest punishment as provided under law for committing such gravest crimes that tremble the collective conscience of mankind.”
The tribunal’s judgement said that Salauddin sought to wipe out the Hindus by launching large-scale systematic attacks and killed unarmed civilians, unleashing a reign of terror in the locality. “As a result, millions of people were compelled to leave the country and took refuge in India,” it said.
During his detention at Kashimpur High Security Jail, Salauddin was also sued on sodomy charges in March 2013.