Supreme Court releases full verdict rejecting Mir Quasem's review petition

The full verdict rejecting Mir Quasem Ali's petition to review his death penalty for war crimes has reached Kashimpur prison in Gazipur.

The International Crimes Tribunal forwarded the verdict to the prison authorities after the Supreme Court published it on Tuesday.

Now the verdict will be read out to the Jamaat-e-Islami leader before asking him whether he is seeking president's pardon, repenting for the atrocities he had committed during the Liberation War.

Jahangir Kabir, Senior Superintendent of the new Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj, said a copy of the verdict arrived at the jail around 9pm.

It was then sent to Kashimpur prison, in a condemned cell of which the pro-Pakistan Al-Badr militia commander of 1971 is currently lodged.

The copy of the full review verdict reached the prison later in the night, Jailor Nasir Uddin told bdnews24.com.

With the completion of the protracted legal battle, the last-ditch option the Jamaat-e-Islami tycoon now has before him to dodge the hangman's noose is to ask for presidential clemency.

The High Court Division's Additional Registrar Md Sabbir Fayez around 5:15pm told bdnews24.com: "The review verdict was released after the judges had signed it. The 29-page verdict has also been published on the Supreme Court's website as well."

Supreme Court Deputy Registrar Mehedi Hasan took the copies of the full verdict to the ICT around 6:30pm. Tribunal Registrar Shahidul Alam Jhinuk received it.

After the formalities at the tribunal, a team led by its Senior Research Officer Fahim Ferdous started for the new central jail in Keraniganj with the order to execute him and a copy of the verdict wrapped in a piece of  red cloth. 

Apart from ordering the prison authorities to take necessary steps in line with the judgment, the ICT was supposed to send its copies to the district magistrate of Dhaka, the home ministry, law ministry and the State and defence counsels.

The verdict lifts the last legal bar to executing the 63-year-old war criminal’s death sentence for the abduction, torture and killing of teenage freedom fighter Jashim Uddin Ahmed during the 1971 Liberation War.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the process to execute the death sentence will start if the president rejects the petition or if the convict does not seek clemency.

Mir Quasem's relatives will be called to see him one last time before his hanging.

Earlier in the morning, the Appellate Division confirmed the Jamaat business baron's death penalty for good by refusing his plea to review its previous judgment.

The same bench issued the appeal verdict on Mar 8, upholding the ICT verdict sentencing him to death on Nov 2, 2014.

The death sentence charge

Charge No. 11

Mir Quasem, the ‘Khan Saheb’ of Dalim Hotel, ordered the killing of freedom fighter Jashim Uddin on Nov 8, 1971 after abducting him from an unknown location after the Eid-ul-Fitr. The young fighter’s body, along with those of five other unknown people, was thrown into the Karnaphuli river.

Sentence - Death by hanging.

# Chief Justice SK Sinha has written the review verdict. The four other judges of the bench agreed with him.

# The death sentence for the charge No. 11 - abduction, torture and murder – had been upheld in the appeal verdict. Now the Appellate Division confirms he deserves the penalty by rejecting the review petition.

# The Appellate Division acquitted him of charges No. 4, 6 and 12. A total of 58-year imprisonment was upheld for charges No. 2, 3, 7, 9, 10 and 14. The defence confined its argument in respect of charge No.11.

# The review petition said the prosecution has been able to prove the charge and that the tribunal was justified in finding him guilty.  "This petition is dismissed," the verdict said.


Mir Quasem was indicted on Sep 5, 2013 on 14 counts including murder, abduction and torture.

Said to be one of Jamaat’s top financiers, he was a director and of Islami Bank and chairman of the Diganta Media Corporation, believed to be pro-Jamaat.

He is also the founder of Ibn Sina Trust and director of the NGO Rabita al-Alam al-Islami.

An executive council member of Jamaat, Mir Quasem was arrested on June 17, 2013 at the offices of newspaper Naya Diganta less than two hours after the tribunal issued a warrant for his arrest.