War criminal Nizami hears news of SC rejecting his review plea on radio in prison cell

Top war criminal Motiur Rahman Nizami has heard the news about the Supreme Court rejecting his appeal to review his death penalty on radio in his cell at Kashimpur prison, according to officials.

Gazipur CorrespondentAbul Hossain, bdnews24.com
Published : 5 May 2016, 02:02 PM
Updated : 5 May 2016, 02:12 PM

The Jamaat-e-Islami chief had challenged the apex court's verdict upholding his sentence for directing rapes, mass murders, and massacre of intellectuals to prevent Bangladesh’s independence in 1971.
 
A four-strong Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha rejected his petition on Thursday, bringing an end to the last legal hurdle for the government to hang Nizami.
 
The former Al-Badr militia chief, who also served as a minister of the BNP-led Four-Party alliance government, is currently in the condemn cell at Central Jail-2 at Gazipur's Kashimpur.
 
In March, the prison authorities there had read out to him the death warrant issued by the International Crimes Tribunal a day after the Supreme Court published the full copy of the verdict.
 
Jailor Md Nasir Ahmed said such inmates could keep a one-band radio after getting approval from the authorities. Nizami on Thursday noon heard the news of his review petition being thrown out by the court on it.
 
Asked how he had reacted, Ahmed said, "There was slight tension."
 
According to the rules, Nizami now will be able to seek presidential clemency, the last option he could use to save his neck, after the top court's full review verdict is published.
 
If he decides against seeking mercy, or if the president turns down his clemency petition, the government will execute the death sentence.
 
Asked whether the top Jamaat leader said anything about seeking the president's mercy, Jailor Ahmed said, "We'll know about that after we receive the final copy of the verdict. We haven't told him anything yet."
 
The war crimes tribunal had sentenced Nizami to death on Oct 29, 2014, for murders and rapes in Pabna and mass killing of intellectuals in 1971.
 
On Jan 6 this year, the appellate court had rejected an appeal to overturn his conviction and the death sentence.
 
Nizami was arrested on Jul 29, 2010, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. But, on Aug 2, he was shown arrested for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. The trial began some two years later, on May 28, 2012.
 
Since his arrest, he was kept in different prisons, including High Security Central Jail and Central Jail-1 at Kashimpur, Dhaka Central Jail and Chittagong Central Jail, at different times.
 
Ahead of Thursday's verdict, the jailor said security was beefed up in and around Kashimpur's Central Jail-2 and in adjacent areas.