The attorney general yesterday said the government could carry out the death sentence of convicted war criminal Abdul Quader Molla any time as there was no scope to file a review petition against the verdict of the Appellate Division.
“The defence can only seek presidential mercy now, nothing else,” Mahbubey Alam said when journalists asked him about a right of review claimed by the defence.
Meanwhile yesterday, the defence served a legal notice to the government asking it not to carry out the verdict until the petition is filed. They termed the death warrant “illegal” and maintained there is scope to submit a review petition against the verdict as per article 105 of the constitution.
Article 105 says: “The Appellate Division shall have the power, subject to the provisions of any Act of parliament or of any rules made by that division, to review any judgement pronounced or order made by it.”
The attorney general said: “The International Crimes (Tribunals) Act is protected by the constitution. The Act gives scope only for appeal, not review, of any Appellate Division verdict.”
However, according to the top law officer of the country, the constitution does allow review petitions against Appellate Division verdicts, but this is not applicable for the convicted war criminals.
State Minister of Law Quamrul Islam confirmed there was no scope to review the Supreme Court verdict since the appeal hearings had taken place under the ICT Act. The government would now execute the verdict through an executive order as per the tribunal Act, he said.
Following the release of the full verdict in the appeals case against Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Quader Molla on December 5, the war crimes tribunal on Sunday issued a death warrant to execute the death sentence.
In its short verdict delivered on September 17, the Appellate Division overturned the life sentence given by the International Crimes Tribunal on February 5.
Arunav Chakrabarty, deputy registrar of the tribunal, said there was no scope of filing a review petition against the verdict and no timeframe had been laid down in the Act for the execution of the verdict.
Referring to the ICT Act, he said: “The sentence awarded under this Act shall be carried out in accordance with the orders of the government.”
Additional Attorney General MK Rahman, also coordinator of the tribunal’s prosecution team, said the constitution restricted the rights of anyone convicted for crimes against humanity. Referring to article 47 (3) and 47A (2) of the constitution, he said: “The tribunal law does not mention a review; it just gives the right to appeal.”
Notice seeks review scope
The defence yesterday served legal notice to prevent the government from carrying out the death sentence while the review petition is being prepared.
The notice states that the warrant issued by the registrar of International Crimes Tribunal violates the jail code, said Abdur Razzak, also a Jamaat assistant secretary general, at a briefing at the Supreme Court Bar Association building.
The jail code says the death warrant has to be issued by the court that gave the verdict, he said.
Razzak sent the notice to the home ministry, the inspector general of prisons, the deputy inspector general of prisons, the Dhaka district magistrate, and the jailor and senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail.