Cabinet approves changes to ICT Act

The Cabinet on Monday approved a draft amendment to the International Crimes Tribunal Act that, if approved in parliament, will allow both the defence and prosecution “equal rights” for appeal after conviction.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the cabinet meeting.

Cabinet Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters that Parliament will now take up the amended Act for consideration in the current session.

With the huge majority that the Awami League-led coalition enjoys in the parliament, the amended Act appears to have an easy passage.

Once the Act is amended, it will pave the way for the prosecution to appeal against the verdict that gave life sentence to Jamaat-e-Islami’s Abdul Quader Molla.

At the moment, the ICT Act does not allow the prosecution to seek a review of any conviction. It can only appeal if a tribunal acquits a suspect for crimes against humanity.

Originally the Act was promulgated in 1973 to try the suspected war criminals, but it was amended by the present government in 2009.

Last week, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 sentenced Abdul Quader Molla to life in prison.

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla

But protests erupted in Dhaka and other parts of the country against the life sentence with many saying the punishment was "too late, too little".

The protestors have gathered at Shahbagh in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country to seek death penalty for Molla and other war criminals for mass murders, rapes and other serious crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.

The current Act’s Section 21 says: (1) A person convicted of any crime specified in Section 3 and sentenced by a Tribunal shall have the right of appeal to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh against such conviction and sentence.

(2) The Government shall have the right of appeal to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh against an order of acquittal.

(3) An appeal under sub-section (1) or (2) shall be preferred within [thirty days] of the date of order of conviction and sentence or acquittal.

Five of the six charges were proved against Quader Molla, while he was acquitted in one. That helped him get away with a life sentence.

Law Minister Shafique Ahmed on Sunday said the amended law will give both the prosecution and defence a chance to appeal once the verdict is given.

“There is no chance to question the amendment as it is being done to create equal rights for both defence and prosecution,” Bhuiyan added.

Law Ministry Information Officer Mizanur Rahman said a verdict must be challenged within a month, and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court must settle the appeal in 45 days.

The Supreme Court can extend the deadline for disposing of the appeal by 15 more days. It means an appeal must be settled at the Supreme Court in two months.

The Cabinet Secretary said the government would appeal against the verdict sentencing Molla to life in jail within the 30-day deadline.