The Supreme Court is set to deliver its judgement on March 8 in the appeal case of condemned war criminal Mir Quasem Ali filed seeking acquittal from the charges.
After the end of arguments in the case yesterday, the five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha first set March 2 for pronouncing the verdict.
But the date was rescheduled for March 8 later in the day as the chief justice would not be available on that day.
During the final day’s hearing, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam prayed to the court to uphold the death penalty of the Jamaat-e-Islami leader given by the International Crimes Tribunal on November 2, 2014.
Al-Badr commander Quasem, now a top financier of the party that opposed the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, was found guilty on 10 charges of crimes against humanity in Chittagong. He was acquitted from four charges as the prosecution did not bring any witness against two charges and failed to prove the two others.
Quasem was given the capital punishment on two of the proven charges – abduction, torture and murder of 15-year-old freedom fighter Jasim of Sandwip, and Ranjit Das alias Lathu and Tuntu Sen alias Raju of Chittagong town. Their bodies were dumped in the Karnaphuli River. He played a key role behind the formation of al-Badr and led the atrocities at its torture camps in the city.
On the other hand, the defence claims that Quasem was not present in Chittagong during the incidents and that the witness statements were not credible.
Mahbubey yesterday said that Jamaat had appointed lobbyists in the US to stop the war crimes trials spending over $25 million. Quasem made the deal, according to the government. A document in favour of the claim was paced before the court yesterday.
The court then questioned why the government had not file a money laundering case against Quasem. Mahbubey replied that he would inform the Anti-Corruption Commission about the matter.
Khandker Mahbub Hossain, chief counsel for the war criminal, prayed to the court for his acquittal saying that the state counsels had failed to prove the charges.
Emerging from the court, he told reporters that Quasem should be acquitted as there was no witness and evidence. “The witnesses in the case are all hearsay witnesses,” Mahbub added.
According to the prosecution, Quasem was the president of Chittagong city unit Islami Chhatra Sangha, then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, until November 6, 1971. He was then made general secretary of East Pakistan Chhatra Sangha.
