Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam walks free after acquittal
Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam, who was acquitted by the Appellate Division from a death sentence in a war crimes case, has been released from jail.
According to Dhaka Central Jail’s Jailer AKM Masum, the Jamaat leader walked free at 9:05am on Wednesday, after verification of the release order and other relevant documents.
Azharul was warmly received by party leaders and activists at the jail gate, marking the end of nearly 13 years in prison.
This is the first exoneration of a war crimes convict through a review petition since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5 last year.
On Tuesday, a seven-member full bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, delivered the verdict in Azharul’s favour after hearing his second appeal.
Earlier, on April 22, the court had stayed the hearing of his review petition until May 6.
SC acquits Jamaat leader Azharul in crimes against humanity case
ATM Azharul Islam was arrested on August 22, 2012, from his Moghbazar residence in Dhaka on charges of war crimes. Since then, he had been in custody.
He faced nine charges of crimes against humanity, including the killing of 1,256 people, the abduction of 17 individuals, and the rape of 13 women during the 1971 Liberation War in the Rangpur region.
He was also accused of torturing civilians, setting fire to hundreds of homes, and committing other atrocities.
The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced him to death on December 30, 2014, in five of the nine charges.
Azharul filed a petition with the Appellate Division on January 28, 2015, maintaining his innocence. Later, on July 19, 2020, he submitted a review petition.
Following the appeal hearing, a bench led by then-Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain upheld the death penalty in a verdict delivered on October 23, 2019.
The full text of that verdict was released on March 15, 2020, after which ATM Azharul Islam filed his final review petition.