Bangladesh jamat e islami secretary general Ali ahsan Muzahid and BNP standing committee member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury must have to hang for Crimes against humanity in 1971. The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld death sentence for war criminals Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.The SC passed the verdict by rejecting appeals by the criminals to review their death penalty for crimes against humanity during the country's 1971 War of Independence. A four-member Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict at 11:30am today wrapping up the judicial process regarding the trial of the two key war criminals -- Mojaheed of Jamaat-e-Islami and Chowdhury of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Jamaat worked against Bangladesh’s independence by collaborating with Pakistan and its military in then East Pakistan and participated in the genocide that followed.The SC bench ended hearing on Mojaheed's petition on Tuesday and fixed Wednesday for delivering its verdict.After the verdict, Khandker Mahbub Hossain, principal lawyer of Mojaheed and Salauddin quader said no one can refute today’s verdict as it came from the Appellate Division. Asked about their next steps, Mahbub said, "It depends on the government and the convicts. The government can pardon the convicts if it wants or the convicts can seek presidential clemency. The Supreme Court on June 16 this year upheld the death penalty of Mojaheed, chief of infamous Al-Badr force, for planning and instigating the killing of intellectuals and professionals towards the end of the country's Liberation War. The top court also upheld his life sentence, originally handed by a war crimes tribunal, for killing composer Altaf Mahmud, Jahir Uddin Jalal, Badi, Rumi (son of Shaheed Janani Jahanara Imam), Jewel and Azad at the Old MP Hostel at Nakhalpara in Dhaka.
On July 17, 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 found Mojaheed guilty of abducting and killing journalist Serajuddin Hossain. But the court did not give any separate sentence for this, as the offence was merged with those of the killings of intellectuals and professionals, for which the tribunal awarded him the death penalty. The tribunal had also given Mojaheed death penalty for mass killings at Bakchar village in Faridpur, but the SC commuted his death sentence to life term on this charge.On October 14, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mojaheed submitted the review petitions.
The apex court started hearing on Chowdhury’s review plea around 9:10am, which lasted little more than an hour. During the hearing, the apex court said the documents submitted by Chowdhury on his study at a Panjab University in 1971 were not acceptable.
There are many anomalies in the statement of the university certificates given by a professor to Chowdhury, the court said.Earlier, defence claimed that Salauddin was in Bangladesh during the Liberation War. He went to Pakistan on March 29, 1971 for studying in Punjab University and he returned to the country in 1974, they said.Sentenced to die for war crimes, Chowdhury on October 14 filed the review petition to the SC seeking acquittal on all the charges levelled against him. The International Crimes Tribunal issued death warrant for him on October 1, a day after the Supreme Court released its full verdict of the appeal hearing.The SC upheld his capital punishment in July after hearing his appeal against the verdict delivered by the International Crimes Tribunal-1. On October 1, 2013, the tribunal found Salauddin, now 66, guilty of nine of the 23 charges brought against him of committing crimes against humanity. He was handed death penalty for four charges – involvement in the killing of Natun Chandra Singha, Awami League leader Mozaffar Ahmed and his son; and genocide in Raozan. Ali ahsan Muzahid and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury are in Dhaka Central Jail. If they don’t want mercy petition to the president, they must have to hang within short time.
Source: www.youtube.com
Source: www.youtube.com