There is no possibility that a verdict will be delivered in August for the much-talked-about war crimes appeals case of death row convict Delawar Hossain Sayedee.
Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain, presiding judge of the case, has not yet called the meeting needed to determine the sentence for the top Jamaat-e-Islami leader, said court sources.
Moreover, the Supreme Court will go on vacation from tomorrow until August 30.
The case was kept for verdict on April 16 after completion of the proceedings.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told the Dhaka Tribune that like the whole nation, he had also been waiting for the verdict.
Sayedee was sentenced to death on February 28 last year in two out of eight charges of crimes against humanity which he had committed in Pirojpur during the 1971 Liberation War. Even though the six other charges were proved, the tribunal did not give any sentence. The Jamaat nayeb-e-ameer was acquitted in 12 other charges.
On March 28 last year, Sayedee registered an appeal with the top court, seeking acquittal, while the government lodged an appeal for specifying the sentences in the six other charges.
So far, the apex court disposed of the appeals case of war criminal Abdul Quader Molla. He was hanged on December 12 last year.
On the other hand, the argument stage has not begun in the only ongoing war crimes appeal case of another death row convict Mohammad Kamaruzzaman. Hearing on the convict’s appeal started on June 3.
The four-member bench headed by Justice SK Sinha deferred the proceedings until September 2 following a defence plea.
Four other appeal cases for Ghulam Azam, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Abdul Alim are pending at the Appellate Division.
As per the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973, the punishment or the judgement of the tribunal will only be executed after the final decision from the Appellate Division.
However, slow progress in the trial process has become the reason of frustration for the justice seekers.
War crimes campaigner Shahriar Kabir told the Dhaka Tribune: “Jamaat is the ultimate beneficiary as the trial for 1971 crimes is running at a snail’s pace while the nation continues to be tormented.
“Many justice seekers are dying without seeing the verdicts. How long should they wait?”
He suggested that the Supreme Court should consider the magnanimity of the war crimes trial since those had been committed against the birth of a nation. “Special benches should be constituted for the speedy disposal of such cases,” he said.
The acting president of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee also lambasted the prosecutors for not fulfilling their due role for speedy trials. “They are trapped by Jamaat’s tricks,” he alleged.
There is also concern of violence before and after delivery of the verdict in the Sayedee case.
The supporters of Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir established a reign of terror across the country last year just after the tribunal announced the verdict date.
The more than a week-long violent attack on state establishments, properties of the pro-liberation people and the law enforcers hit the headlines every day both at home as well as in international media.
However, the present situation is not volatile like last year when major movement demanding caretaker government was mounting.
Three other death row convicts who did not defend their cases at the tribunal also have not appealed against the verdicts with the Appellate Division.
Meanwhile, four cases have been kept awaiting verdicts for a long time at the two tribunals.