Appeal hearing for death-row convict Abul Kalam Azad deferred to Aug 31

The Appellate Division has deferred until August 31 the hearing on whether an appeal filed by death-row convict Maulana Abul Kalam Azad against his war crimes conviction is legally admissible.

The court will also consider a petition seeking an extension of the stay on his death sentence.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Justice Md Rezaul Haque, set the new date on Monday (August 17).

Senior lawyer Ehsan A Siddiq appeared for Azad, while International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam represented the state.

Azad was sentenced to death in absentia by the International Crimes Tribunal on January 21, 2013, for crimes against humanity committed in different parts of Faridpur during the 1971 Liberation War. The verdict was the tribunal’s first judgment in a war crimes case since Bangladesh’s independence.

After remaining a fugitive for years, Azad surrendered before the International Crimes Tribunal on January 21 this year. His death sentence had earlier been stayed on the condition that he surrender and seek an appeal. Following his surrender, the tribunal ordered that he be provided with the necessary case documents to pursue the appeal.

During Monday’s hearing, the prosecution opposed extending the stay on his sentence. Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam argued that there was no precedent for accepting an appeal in a crimes-against-humanity case after the statutory 30-day deadline had expired.

Azad’s counsel, meanwhile, sought an extension of the stay on his death sentence.

The August 31 hearing will primarily determine whether Azad’s appeal can be admitted for substantive consideration. If the appeal is found admissible, the way will open for a full hearing challenging his 2013 death sentence. If it is rejected, the legal status of the tribunal’s death sentence will become the central issue.