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Bangladesh War crimes convict Mir Quasem Ali files petition to defer review hearing again
War crimes convict Mir Quasem Ali has once again moved the Supreme Court to defer the hearing on a petition seeking a review of his death sentence.
Published : 23 August 2016, 04:25 PM
Updated : 23 August 2016, 06:10 PM
The Supreme Court's cause list for Wednesday includes the hearing of the review but the Jamaat-e-Islami leader's counsel has prayed for a month to prepare.
The day's agenda also includes hearing Mir Quasem's plea for more time.
Asked why such a move was made for a second time, a lawyer of the defence team, Gazi MH Tamim, told bdnews24.com, "Sir (chief defence counsel Khandker Mahbub Hossain) will tell the reason in court."
The former Al-Badr commander was found guilty of charges by the International Crimes Tribunal and was awarded death penalty in 2014.
He challenged the verdict but in March this year, the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence.
On Jun 6, the top court released the full verdict and sent it to the International Crimes Tribunal, which then issued the death warrant before forwarding it to the jail authorities.
He filed a petition on Jun 19 for a review of the top court's verdict.
The State then moved the Supreme Court’s chamber judge to expedite the hearing, and its plea was forwarded to the appeals bench and the court scheduled a hearing for Jul 25.
But it was deferred by a month to Aug 24 (Wednesday) after the defence sought time.
A review of the sentence is the last ditch attempt for the war crimes convict to save his neck.
Once it is resolved and if the death sentence is upheld, the war crimes convict will have the opportunity to seek presidential clemency.
If the Jamaat leader is denied pardon, the government will order the jail authorities to hang him.
Mir Quasem was the Al-Badr’s third most important functionary after Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami and Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid.
Bangladesh has executed both Nizami and Mujahid for 1971 war crimes.
Mir Quasem, a terror during 1971 in Chittagong, has proved to be a shrewd businessman and politician.
The 63-year old media tycoon pumped billions into the Jamaat since the mid-1980s to put it on a firm financial footing in Bangladesh.
Police arrested him on Jun 17, 2012 at the 'Naya Diganta' newspaper offices less than two hours after a warrant was out for him.
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