The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has issued a rule against the Daily Janakantha for publishing an article raising question about the judges' role in war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury's case.
A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha issued the suo-moto rule on Wednesday morning, after delivering verdict on Salauddin Quader's appeal against his death penalty handed down by a war tribunal.
The apex court summoned the article writer Swadesh Roy and Janakantha Editor Atikullah Khan Masud to appear them before it on August 3.
On July 16, the Bangla daily published an article titled 'Activity of SQ Chy's family: Less chances to escape'. In the article, the writer stated that the family members of the war criminal met one of the judges dealing with the trial of Salauddin Quader.
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In a press briefing, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the top court summoned the article writer and the editor of the daily to give explanation.
Earlier in the day, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld a war tribunal’s death sentence to BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
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The International Crimes Tribunal 1 sentenced him to death on four charges. The Supreme Court upheld the judgement. The top court also upheld Salauddin Quader's conviction in four other charges.
On October 1, 2013, the tribunal found notorious war criminal Salauddin, 66, guilty of nine of the 23 charges brought against him by the prosecution.
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Salauddin, who had served then prime minister Khaleda Zia as her parliamentary affairs adviser during 2001-06, 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.
