War criminal Kamaruzzaman’s lawyers at prison to talk on presidential pardon

Counsels of war criminal and death row convict Mohammad Kamaruzzaman have gone to the Dhaka Central Jail for consultation with their client.

The five, Shishir Monir, Ehsan A Siddique, Mashiul Alam, Matiur Rahman Akhand and Maujahidul Islam Shahin, entered the prison premises around 10:48am on Thursday. 
 
Shishir Monir said before entering that they had been summoned by the jail authorities because their client wanted to meet them. 
 
When asked whether Kamaruzzaman would seek presidential pardon, he said, “We will be saying why he called us only after the meeting.” 
 
The lawyer had said yesterday, “There may be talks on issues other than seeking [presidential] mercy.”
 
Inspector General of Prisons Syed Iftekhar Uddin on Wednesday said Kamaruzzaman had asked for more times and would decide on whether to seek mercy “after speaking to his lawyers tomorrow.”
 
The Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general was sentenced to death for atrocities he committed during Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
 
The Appellate Division upheld the sentence describing his crimes as being “worse than Nazis”.
 
Chief Justice SK Sinha-led bench last Monday rejected his plea for a review of the penalty the top court had handed him.
 
It depends on the president whether or not to show mercy to the war criminal. 
 
However, the death-row convict will have to admit to his crimes in seeking mercy from the head of the state.
 
Once the matter is resolved or if the convict does not seek presidential clemency, the government will go ahead with the execution.
 
The judgment dismissing the plea for review has already been read out to Kamaruzzaman.