The Supreme Court has commenced the hearing on the appeal filed by convicted war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, challenging his death sentence.
The four-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, started hearing the appeal of the BNP Standing Committee member on Tuesday, two hours after the same bench upheld the death penalty to Jamaat leader Mujaheed.
SQ Chowdhury's lawyer SM Shahjahan told the Dhaka Tribune: “The apex court rejected our time petition and commenced the hearing on Tuesday.
“We sought more time to prepare for the hearing.”
On October 29, 2013, the defence lawyer filed an appeal against the death penalty awarded to the BNP leader for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
Advocate Zainul Abedin, on behalf of Salauddin Quader, filed the appeal at the Supreme Court.
Tribunal 1 handed down capital punishment to the BNP leader, who had served as a lawmaker for six consecutive terms.
Salauddin was given the death penalty on four out of nine proven charges for committing crimes against humanity and genocide in Chittagong with an aim to annihilate the Hindu community.
