SC upholds Mujahid�s death sentence

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld the death penalty to Jammat leader Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War. A four-member bench comprising Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Hassan Foyez Siddique delivered the verdict in a jam-packed courtroom around 9 am.
“For the reasons to be assigned later on, this appeal is allowed in part. Appellant Ali Ahsan Mujahid is acquitted of charge no.1. His conviction in respect of charge nos. 3, 5, 6 and 7 is maintained. His sentence in respect of charge, nos. 3, 5 and 6 is maintained.
His sentence in respect of Charge No.7 is commuted to imprisonment for life,” the apex court said in its short order.
In July 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 had sentenced the 67-year-old Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general to death, passed another sentence of life imprisonment and a five-year jail term for five separate charges of wartime offences.
The apex court upheld the tribunal’s verdict of death penalty for charge no. 6 against Mujahid for abetting and facilitating killing of intellectuals during the Liberation War. It also upheld the tribunal’s verdict of five-year jail term for charge no. 3 pertaining to the abduction and torture of Ranjit Kumar Nath. The Supreme Court also upheld the life-term imprisonment for charge no. 5 of killing Altab Mahmud, Rumi and two other freedom fighters.
The apex court, however, acquitted the Jamaat leader from the first charge brought against him for the abduction and murder of journalist Serajuddin Hossain, in which the tribunal had awarded him the death penalty. The top court also commuted his death penalty to life-term imprisonment with respect to charge no. 7 brought against him for killing of nine Hindus in Faridpur in 1971, in which the tribunal had awarded him death penalty.
Attorney General (AG) Mahbubey Alam expressed his satisfaction over the verdict, saying that the process for executing Mujahid would start after getting the full copy of the Supreme Court’s verdict. He, however, added that the process of his execution would be automatically halted if Mujahid files a review petition with the apex court against the judgment.
He said the Al-Badr force had killed intellectuals, including 25 to 30 teachers of Dhaka University, including eminent physicians Fazle Rabbi and Alim Chowdhury and journalists including Sirajuddin Hossain in a pre-planned way at the end of the Liberation War (between December 14-16, 1971).
Alam also said there was no bigger crime than to eliminate the nation’s intellectuals. “I do not find any difference between the cruelties committed by Hitler and Al-Badr. There is no country in the world where intellectuals were killed by their own people. Mujahid had instigated Al-Badr force to kill the intellectuals," he added.
On the other hand, defence lawyer advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain expressed dissatisfaction over the verdict and alleged that the apex court upheld Mujahid’s death penalty without any specific allegation but on the basis of a blanket charge of killing intellectuals. He also claimed that the prosecution had failed to produce adequate witnesses and evidence against Mujahid.
“We will file a review petition with the apex court for reconsidering its verdict. I hope that the apex court would take a proper decision in response to our review petition,” he added.
The defence counsel said, “We are not disappointed by the verdict. This is the judiciary. There’s no reason to be dissatisfied over the judicial process.”

Advocate Shishir Manirm, another counsel for Mujahid, told reporters that they would file a review petition with the Supreme Court within 15 days of the publication of the full verdict.
“I am of the view that the prosecution miserably failed to produce any credible eye witness to show that Mujahid was directly involved in commission of the offences in 1971,” he said.
“Although Mujahid was convicted as the chief of a para-militia force, the investigating officer admitted that he was not named in the list of any para-militia forces, specifically Al-Badr,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mujahid’s son Ali Ahmed Mabrur said, “We did not get justice at the tribunal. We had hoped for justice at the Supreme Court but were deprived of justice here as well. We are aggrieved.”
After conclusion of a nine-day hearing on May 27, the apex court had fixed June 16 for delivering its final verdict in the case.
On July 17, 2013, the ICT-2 had found Mujahid guilty on five counts out of the seven charges levelled against him for wartime offences.
The Jamaat leader, who was also the welfare minister during the tenure of the BNP-led Four Party Alliance government, got death penalty for the first of the seven charges—abduction and murder of journalist Sirajuddin Hossain—which was “merged” with the sixth charge related to the murder of intellectuals. The Appellate Division took into account the first and sixth charge separately.
Mujahid is the fourth war crimes convict whose case was taken up by the top court after the trials into crimes against humanity started in 2010.
Earlier, the apex court had delivered its final verdict in three appeals filed by Jamaat leaders Abdul Quader Mollah, Delwar Hossain Sayedee and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman. While the tribunal’s verdict of life sentence was revised to death penalty for Quader Mollah, the apex court commuted the death penalty of Sayedee to imprisonment until death.

SC upholds Mujahid�s death sentence

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday upheld the death penalty to Jammat leader Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War. A four-member bench comprising Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Hassan Foyez Siddique delivered the verdict in a jam-packed courtroom around 9 am. For the reasons to be assigned later on, this appeal is allowed in part. Appellant Ali Ahsan Mujahid is acquitted of charge no.1. His conviction in respect of charge nos. 3, 5, 6 and 7 is maintained. His sentence in respect of charge, nos. 3, 5 and 6 is maintained. His sentence in respect of Charge No.7 is commuted to imprisonment for life, the apex court said in its short order. In July 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 had sentenced the 67-year-old Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general to death, passed another sentence of life imprisonment and a five-year jail term for five separate charges of wartime offences. The apex court upheld the tribunals verdict of death penalty for charge no. 6 against Mujahid for abetting and facilitating killing of intellectuals during the Liberation War. It also upheld the tribunals verdict of five-year jail term for charge no. 3 pertaining to the abduction and torture of Ranjit Kumar Nath. The Supreme Court also upheld the life-term imprisonment for charge no. 5 of killing Altab Mahmud, Rumi and two other freedom fighters. The apex court, however, acquitted the Jamaat leader from the first charge brought against him for the abduction and murder of journalist Serajuddin Hossain, in which the tribunal had awarded him the death penalty. The top court also commuted his death penalty to life-term imprisonment with respect to charge no. 7 brought against him for killing of nine Hindus in Faridpur in 1971, in which the tribunal had awarded him death penalty. Attorney General (AG) Mahbubey Alam expressed his satisfaction over the verdict, saying that the process for executing Mujahid would start after getting the full copy of the Supreme Courts verdict. He, however, added that the process of his execution would be automatically halted if Mujahid files a review petition with the apex court against the judgment. He said the Al-Badr force had killed intellectuals, including 25 to 30 teachers of Dhaka University, including eminent physicians Fazle Rabbi and Alim Chowdhury and journalists including Sirajuddin Hossain in a pre-planned way at the end of the Liberation War (between December 14-16, 1971). Alam also said there was no bigger crime than to eliminate the nations intellectuals. I do not find any difference between the cruelties committed by Hitler and Al-Badr. There is no country in the world where intellectuals were killed by their own people. Mujahid had instigated Al-Badr force to kill the intellectuals, he added. On the other hand, defence lawyer advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain expressed dissatisfaction over the verdict and alleged that the apex court upheld Mujahids death penalty without any specific allegation but on the basis of a blanket charge of killing intellectuals. He also claimed that the prosecution had failed to produce adequate witnesses and evidence against Mujahid. We will file a review petition with the apex court for reconsidering its verdict. I hope that the apex court would take a proper decision in response to our review petition, he added. The defence counsel said, We are not disappointed by the verdict. This is the judiciary. Theres no reason to be dissatisfied over the judicial process. Advocate Shishir Manirm, another counsel for Mujahid, told reporters that they would file a review petition with the Supreme Court within 15 days of the publication of the full verdict. I am of the view that the prosecution miserably failed to produce any credible eye witness to show that Mujahid was directly involved in commission of the offences in 1971, he said. Although Mujahid was convicted as the chief of a para-militia force, the investigating officer admitted that he was not named in the list of any para-militia forces, specifically Al-Badr, he added. Meanwhile, Mujahids son Ali Ahmed Mabrur said, We did not get justice at the tribunal. We had hoped for justice at the Supreme Court but were deprived of justice here as well. We are aggrieved. After conclusion of a nine-day hearing on May 27, the apex court had fixed June 16 for delivering its final verdict in the case. On July 17, 2013, the ICT-2 had found Mujahid guilty on five counts out of the seven charges levelled against him for wartime offences. The Jamaat leader, who was also the welfare minister during the tenure of the BNP-led Four Party Alliance government, got death penalty for the first of the seven chargesabduction and murder of journalist Sirajuddin Hossainwhich was merged with the sixth charge related to the murder of intellectuals. The Appellate Division took into account the first and sixth charge separately. Mujahid is the fourth war crimes convict whose case was taken up by the top court after the trials into crimes against humanity started in 2010. Earlier, the apex court had delivered its final verdict in three appeals filed by Jamaat leaders Abdul Quader Mollah, Delwar Hossain Sayedee and Muhammad Kamaruzzaman. While the tribunals verdict of life sentence was revised to death penalty for Quader Mollah, the apex court commuted the death penalty of Sayedee to imprisonment until death.