Although most of the top Jamaat leaders have been executed, the last one being Al Badr commander Mir Quasem Ali, 15 war crimes cases are waiting for appeal hearing before the Supreme Court. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) has so far disposed of nine cases of crimes against humanity. It has handed down the death sentence against six war criminal—Abdul Quader Molla, Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Motiur Rahman Nizami and Mir Quasem Ali. They have already been executed after all legal procedures were carried out.
The SC also delivered judgment in the appeal petitions of Gulam Azam, Delwar Hossain Sayedee and Abdul Alim.
The SC awarded prison until death to Gulam Azam, Sayedee and Abdul Alim. Gulam Azam and Alim died while serving their jail terms.
But both the defence and the state have pleaded for review of the Appellate Division judgment that had commuted the death sentence of Jamaat nayeb-e-ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee to life imprisonment. The state sought the death penalty, while the defence appealed for acquittal of Sayedee. The apex court is yet to hear the review petitions.
Apart from this, at least 15 cases are now pending before the apex court relating to war crimes. Most of the convicted appellants were
mid-level or even grassroots-level criminals, who terrorised their neighbourhoods by their acts.
The cases are against Jamaat nayeb-e-ameer Mawlana Abdus Subhan of Pabna, fellow Jamaat man ATM Azharul Islam of Rangpur, Mobarak Hossain of Brahmanbaria, Syed Mohammad Kaiser of Habiganj, Engineer Abdul Jabbar of Pirojpur, Mahidur Rahman and Afsar Hossain of Chapai Nawabganj, Sheikh Sirajul Haque and Khan Akram Hossain of Bagerhat, Forkan Mallik of Potuakhali, Ataur Rahman Noni and Obaidul Haque Taher of Netrokona, Shamsuddin Ahmed of Kishoreganj and Mohibur Rahman, alias Boro Miah, and his cousin Abdur Razzak of Habiganj.
Of these 15 appeals, the state has pleaded for the death sentence for Jabbar, who had been handed down imprisonment till natural death by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) considering his age. The other appeals were lodged by the convicts against their sentences by the tribunal.
Two tribunals have so far disposed of 24 cases in six years. The first special court was set up on March 25, 2010. Trials of more than 50 accused in 18 cases are going on at the single tribunal after the merger of the two.
Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla was the first war criminal to be sent to the gallows on December 12, 2013. This was followed by Mohammad Kamaruzzaman (April 11, 2015), Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid (November 21, 2015) and Jaamaat supremo Motiur Rahman Nizami (May 10, 2016).
At least 62 new cases are going to be filed shortly, while hundreds are in the process of investigation, sources in the investigation agency of the tribunal said. There are over 2,000 accused in at least 622 cases now being looked into by the investigation agency of the ICT.
The second bench (ICT-2), which was formed on March 22, 2012, was dismantled on September 15, 2015 and the ICT-1 was reconstituted. The ICT-1 disposed of 10 cases, and the second tribunal 11.