End to all worries, says attorney general after death penalty upheld for Mir Quasem

The review verdict that upheld death penalty for 1971 war criminal Mir Quasem Ali has put an ‘end to worries’, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam has said.

The top Jamaat-e-Islami leader’s petition to overturn his sentence was rejected by a five-member appellate bench headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha on Tuesday.

He lost an appeal on Mar 8 against the death sentence handed down to him by the International Crimes Tribunal on Nov 2, 2014 for abduction, torture and murders in Chittagong during Bangladesh’s Liberation War.

Of all the review petitions filed by war crimes convicts, the disposal of Mir Quasem's has taken the longest time.

He had twice the time than the others who had made this last-ditch attempt to avoid execution. It is alleged that he had spent millions to dodge conviction.

Attorney General Alam had submitted documents on his payment of $25 million to foreign lobbyists at the hearing.

"I am worried inside. I’m really worried about tomorrow," Bangladesh’s top legal officer had said the day before the review verdict.

On Tuesday, speaking to the media, he said: “All our worries have ended.”

“I have said before that, as a lawyer, I have argued in this case. It is natural that I will be worried about what the outcome will be.

“The entire nation and myself would have sunken into disappointment if his (Mir Quasem) death penalty was not upheld like the other war criminals.”

Chief Justice Sinha’s dissatisfaction about the performance of the prosecution and investigation agency had given rise to concerns, while the defence was trying repeatedly to delay the review hearings.