The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict on an appeal filed by war crimes convict and Jamaat-e-Islami leader, Mir Quasem Ali, challenging his death penalty for wartime offences. A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, is scheduled to deliver the verdict today (Tuesday). The matter is at the top of the court's daily cause list.  The other members of the bench are Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Mohammad Bazlur Rahman.
 The authorities have made tight security arrangements in and around the apex court premises to avoid any untoward incident ahead of the verdict. After concluding the hearing on the appeal, the apex court on February 24 first set March 2 for delivering the verdict, but after some time shifted the date to March 8. Attorney General (AG) Mahbubey Alam hoped that the apex court would uphold the death penalty for Mir Quasem Ali.
 On the other hand, the chief defence counsel, Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, hoped that the apex court would acquit his client as the prosecution has failed to prove any of the charges against him.
 During the hearing, the chief law officer of the state prayed to the apex court to uphold Mir Quasem’s death penalty – awarded to him by a war crimes tribunal on November 2, 2014.
 Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, chief defence counsel, placed his arguments before the apex court, seeking acquittal for Mir Quasem. Hossain prayed for acquittal, saying that the state counsel had failed to prove the charges.
 Earlier, the apex court had fixed February 2 for the hearing on the appeal. However, it was rescheduled to February 9 as the defendants filed a time petition. On January 6, both the defence and the prosecution submitted the concise statements of the appeal to the Appellate Division.
 On May 28 and August 18, 2015, the SC asked the defence and the prosecution to submit the concise statements of the appeal.  On November 30, 2014, Mir Quasem filed an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the death penalty awarded to him by the International Crimes Tribunal 2.
 In his appeal, Mir Quasem, a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami’s central executive council, cited 181 reasons for acquittal on all charges. The ICT handed down the death penalty on November 2, 2014.  Mir Quasem was president of the Chittagong town unit of the Islami Chhatra Sangha, student wing of the Jamaat, till November 6, 1971. He was then made general secretary of the East Pakistan Chhatra Sangha.
 So far, the apex court has handed down its verdicts against five war criminals. They are Jamaat assistant secretaries general, Quader Molla and Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, the party’s Nayeb-e-Amir, Delwar Hossain Sayedee, and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.