The Supreme Court has upheld the war tribunal’s death sentence awarded to Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha delivered the verdict on Tuesday morning.
The court upheld death penalty for Mir Quasem in one charge. However, it acquitted him of three other charges.
Top Jamaat-e-Islami financier Quasem, now 64, was awarded capital punishment by the tribunal on November 3, 2014. As many as 24 prosecution witnesses testified against Quasem.
Also Read: The fine line between confidence and arrogance
The tribunal handed down the death penalty on two charges – for killing seven people, including teenage freedom fighter Jasimuddin, after abduction. He was also awarded a total of 72-year imprisonment on the eight other proven charges of abduction, conspiracy and planning.
The Appellate Division started hearing on his appeal on February 9. It is the seventh appeals case heard by the top court.
Quasem joined Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student wing of Jamaat, in 1967 while studying at Chittagong Collegiate School. He later became its Chittagong city unit general secretary. He played an important role in forming al-Badr Bahini.
He had set up makeshift torture camps at different places in the port city. According to the government, Quasem has also spent a large amount of money abroad to make the war crimes trials controversial.
