ATM Azharul Islam, former acting secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami, has claimed that those sentenced to death for crimes against humanity in 1971 were actually killed on the false pretext of ensuring justice and urged that everyone involved in these killings, at whatever level, should be brought under the law and tried.
“Let all those involved, at whatever level, in these killings be brought to trial. Otherwise, this bad culture will continue, and we must move beyond it,” Azharul said on Wednesday morning at a reception at Shahbagh after being released following 14 years of imprisonment.
Azharul was released on Wednesday morning while receiving treatment in the prison cell of Bangladesh Medical University, as confirmed by Deputy Inspector General of Dhaka Division Md Jahangir Kabir, who said he was freed from the hospital.
He was then escorted out of the hospital in a black vehicle, accompanied by Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman.
From there, Azharul was taken to the Shahbagh intersection, where a stage had already been set up for a public reception in his honour.
In a brief speech at the reception stage, Azharul said: “After nearly 14 years in prison, I was released this morning. I am now free; I am now an independent citizen in this free country.”
Thanking the Supreme Court for his acquittal from the death sentence, he said: “They (the courts) are playing an exceptional role in establishing justice. There was no justice for so long. The courts had been misused. I hope in the days to come they will ensure justice for the people.”
He also expressed gratitude to the lawyers who fought his case.
Later, he thanked the revolutionaries of the July uprising, saying their movement forced the "fascist" government to resign.
Azharul added: “It was the student community that, shedding blood on the streets, led the people in a movement against all the atrocities of the 15-year fascist government, which allowed Bangladesh to achieve a new independence.”
