Death warrant read out to war crimes convict Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, too

The death warrant for war crimes convict BNP leader Salaudin Quader Chowdhury has been read out to him.

The 66-year old BNP Standing Committee member is currently in Dhaka Central Jail-1 in Gazipur’s Kashimpur.

The death warrant issued by the International Crime Tribunal (ICT) was read out to Chowdhury after it reached the prison around 9pm on Thursday, the jail’s Superintendent Subrata Kumar Bala told bdnews24.com.

Wartime terror of Chittagong, Chowdhury has been lodged at Kashimpur jail since Dec 23, 2012.

The war crimes tribunal sentenced him to death on Oct 1, 2013, after it found him guilty in nine out of the 23 charges levelled against him.

He was ordered to walk the gallows over four charges of crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War.

The tribunal on Thursday morning also issued the death warrant for war crimes convict Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid.

It was read out to the 67-year old Jamaat leader after the Dhaka Central Jail authorities received it in the afternoon.

Mujahid, who was the former commander of Al-Badr, was also sentenced to death for crimes against humanity by the tribunal on Jul 17, 2013.

Al-Badr was a militia raised by Pakistan army, apart from several other forces, to crush the Bengali’s struggle for independence in 1971.

The Appellate Division later upheld both sentences after Chowdhury and Mujahid had challenged them.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday published and sent to the ICT the full verdicts.

Salaudin Quader Chowdhury (File Photo)

Wrapped in a red cloth, the death warrants were then delivered to two prisons on Thursday.

Their copies were also sent to the home ministry and the offices of the deputy commissioner and district magistrate, paving the way for their execution.

The death-row convicts can now appeal for a review within 15 days. The counting of the period starts from the day the defence gets the copy of the appeal verdict, or the death warrant is read out to the convict, whichever happens first.

According to the law, the government will start the process of execution through the jail authorities after the reading out of the death warrant.

But the convict cannot be executed before the resolution of the review petition, if filed.

The Advocate-on-Record of both Chowdhury and Mujahid, Zainul Abedin Tuhin, told bdnews24.com on Thursday evening that he received the copies of the full verdicts.

He said they would file review petitions and that had already been informed to the chief prosecutor through a notice.

The government will take step as per law after the resolution of the review petitions.

After the petition is dismissed, the order will be sent to the jail. The authorities will then execute the convicts following government decision.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said that the government would follow the law in going ahead with the procedures.