ICT gets Quader Molla verdict copy

The International Crimes Tribunal has received a copy of the full verdict of the death sentence of Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Abdul Quader Molla.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 8 Dec 2013, 08:05 AM
Updated : 8 Dec 2013, 08:05 AM

Tribunal’s Deputy Registrar Arunav Chakroborty said they had got the verdict copy published by the Appellate Division around 11.30am on Sunday.

“We will take necessary steps, we will follow the directives of the verdict,” he said.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain had delivered the verdict on Sept 17.
The concerned wing of the Supreme Court published it on Dec 5 after the judges had signed it.

The tribunal’s prosecution team coordinator MK Rahman had said that fixing of the date for Molla's execution will depend on the government’s decision.

“By law, the verdict will be executed in line with the government’s decision. The government can follow jail code in implementing it... but there is no obligation to follow jail code. The government can take a different decision if it wants.”

File Photo

Quader Molla’s lawyer Abdur Razzak, however, said there was no alternative to following the jail code.
He said they would file a review petition, but the prosecution says there was no scope to do that.
State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam had said on Thursday the verdict would be executed soonest possible.
The Prime Minister’s legal adviser Shafique Ahmed had said on Thursday the tribunal had not got the copy of the verdict copy as yet.
The next step would be taken consulting the tribunal, he said.
Quader Molla was transferred to Dhaka Central Jail on Thursday from Kashimpur jail.
Deputy Inspector General of Prisons Golam Haider had said they would take necessary steps in line with the jail code after they got the verdict copy.
If a trial court delivers a death sentence it requires the High Court’s approval to execute the verdict. The convict gets the scope for appeal.
Even if the convict does not appeal, the High Court’s approval is needed for executing the verdict.
The convict can file a leave petition after the High Court disposal.
In case of the war crimes case, the tribunal is equivalent to the High Court.
Both the parties can appeal to the Appellate Division against any verdict.
In the normal case, after a death sentence, the execution process starts with the High Court approval if the convict does not file appeal to he Appellate Division.
Every death convict has the right to appeal for clemency, the former law minister Shafique Ahmed agrees.
After the final resolution of a case the jail superintendent will ask the convict whether s/he would seek presidential pardon.
The convict will get maximum seven days for letting that known.
The convict will have to address both the president and the government in the letter appealing for clemency.
The jail superintendent will send the letter to the home secretary. In a separate letter, a probable date will be mentioned.
Quader Molla was sentenced to life imprisonment on Feb 5 by the International Crimes Tribunal.
Six charges were levelled against Molla but the ICT-2 acquitted him in one, and sentenced him to life in the rest.
Punishment of the tribunal was maintained on four charges while the fifth one was revised to life term by 4-1 majority.
The verdict said Molla, whose life sentence triggered the ‘Bangla Spring’ from Shahbagh, will be hanged until death as he was found guilty of previously unproven murders and rape during the 1971 war.