ATM Azhar’s appeal hearing deferred to May 6

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has scheduled May 6 for hearing of the appeal against the death sentence of Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam in a case over crimes against humanity.

The hearing will take place before the full bench of the Appellate Division on that day.

A four-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed passed the order on Tuesday (April 22).

The order stated that on May 6, the appeal of Jamaat leader Azhar will be placed at the top of the Appellate Division's cause list.

Mentionable, after the Awami League government came to power in 2008, the International Crimes Tribunal was formed to try crimes committed during the Liberation War. As part of this process, ATM Azhar was arrested on August 22, 2012.

The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced ATM Azharul Islam to death on December 30, 2014 in a case filed over involvement in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

Azhar appealed against the verdict on January 28, 2015. However, on October 31, 2019, the Appellate Division upheld the death sentence. Later, seeking a review of that verdict, ATM Azharul Islam filed a petition with the Appellate Division on July 19, 2020.