Sheikh Hasina can't avail opportunity to appeal
Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam. File photo.
There is no longer any opportunity for ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to appeal against the verdict of the International Crimes Tribunal. Chief Prosecutor Md. Aminul Islam told reporters during a briefing at his office on Monday afternoon.
The Chief Prosecutor said, "In Section 21(3) of our law, it is clearly stated that an appeal must be filed within 30 days of the verdict being pronounced. If an appeal is not filed within those 30 days, no subsequent appeal will be admissible. This applies to anyone's appeal. Whether it is Sheikh Hasina's or Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's."
He further said, "Any absconding accused or those in jail must file their appeal within 30 days. If someone fails to file an appeal within 30 days due to being absconding or any other reason, they will no longer have the opportunity to file an appeal."
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a former member of Jamaat-e-Islami who was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971, filed an appeal in January this year after being on the run for a long time. Hearings on the admissibility of his appeal application have commenced.
Chief Prosecutor of the International Crimes Tribunal, Md. Aminul Islam, said, "The government has already stayed his verdict. We will argue on points such as whether an appeal can be filed against a verdict while it is stayed, and whether an appeal can be filed so many years after the conviction."
He informed that the hearing on the main appeal filed against the verdict has not yet begun. Rather, the hearing is currently ongoing regarding whether Azad's appeal is admissible.
On January 21, 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Abul Kalam Azad to death in absentia. This was the first verdict in a case concerning crimes against humanity, delivered 41 years after Bangladesh's independence.
Abul Kalam Azad, who gained recognition by presenting Islamic programs on various private television channels, was accused of committing crimes against humanity in different areas of Faridpur during the Liberation War.
After being on the run for a long time, he surrendered to the International Crimes Tribunal on January 21 of this year. Prior to this, the President had stayed his death sentence for one year. His sentence was stayed on the condition that he would surrender and file an appeal.
Lawyer Mashiul Alam, representing Abul Kalam Azad, said the International Crimes Tribunal had sentenced him to death in 2013. Later, upon application to the President, his sentence was stayed for one year on the condition of filing an appeal.
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification regarding this matter on October 22 last year. Subsequently, when he surrendered to the Tribunal on January 21, the court accepted his surrender and directed the provision of necessary documents for filing the appeal.
Abul Kalam Azad was a 'Rokon' or member of Jamaat-e-Islami. He was also a member of the party's central Majlis-e-Shura. However, all his membership in Jamaat was cancelled on charges of violating party discipline.
The Chief Prosecutor said, "When Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's case was heard in the Appellate Division, I, from the prosecution side, clearly presented the laws. The Appellate Division has already settled this matter in the case of Abdul Quader Mollah. Where there is a statutory provision, a clear provision, regarding the appeal, then there is no application of Article 104 in that case."
