ATM Azharul Islam The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) awarded death sentence to Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam for wartime crimes committed during Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. A three-member bench of ICT-1 presided over by Justice Enayetur Rahim passed the verdict on Tuesday. Two other members of the tribunal were Justice Jahangir Hossain and Justice Anwarul Haque. The verdict said ““...he be convicted accordingly and sentenced to death for each of the said three charges mentioned above and be hanged by the neck till he is dead under section 20(2) of the said Act of 1973.” During pronouncement of the verdict, accused Azharul was present on the dock. Five out of six counts of charges were proved beyond reasonable doubt. Azharul was sentenced to death for charge nos 2, 3 and 4. He got 25 years’ jail for charge no 5 and 5 years’ jail for charge no 6. He was acquitted of charge no 1. Ahead of the verdict, he was shifted from Kashimpur Jail to Dhaka Central Jail Monday afternoon. From there he was taken to the tribunal yesterday morning. The summary of 158-page judgment started to be read out at 11: 18. Pronouncement of sentence ended at 12: 45. While articulating highest punishment, Justice Enayetur Rahim said the accused was not repentant for his crimes and he deserves capital punishment. Court’s Suggestion For the first time the court opened mouth against critical comment about judgment. It said the both parties cannot be satisfied with a verdict. The aggrieved party should try to get relief by legal fight. They can file appeal. But the judgment should not be criticised showing disregard to the rule of law. The court also suggested all concerned not to show violent protest against the verdict. Azharul was facing six counts of charges of crimes against humanity including genocide, arson and rape committed in the Rangpur area. Being convicted with highest punishment, Azhar loudly raised voice against the judgment. He claimed his innocence rejecting the sentence. Death Sentence Charges Charge no 2 Azharul along with cohorts shot dead 15 unarmed civilians at his own locality at Mokshedpur Dhap Para under Badarganj Thana of Rangpur on April 16, 1971. He also looted and set ablaze houses. Charge no 3 It is a serious charge of mass killing. On April 17, 1971, Azharul along with others killed around 1,400 unarmed civilians. Those people were held from Badarganj Jharuarbeel area under Rangpur. Apart from killing, the accused person looted and torched houses. Charge no 4 Azharul allegedly picked up four Hindu teachers of Carmichael College and wife of one teacher from college campus on April 30, 1971. The victims were taken to Damdam Bridge and shot dead. 25 Years Jail Charge no 5 Azharul along with cohorts held women from Rangpur town and other adjoining places. The victims were raped at Rangpur Town Hall during a period from March 25 and December 16, 1971. He was involved in abducting, injuring and killing women and other unarmed civilians. 5 Years Jail Charge no 6 Two persons named Shawkat Hossain and Rafiqul Hasan were persecuted by accused Azhar. One person sustained injury due to torture at Guptapara of Ranpur town in mid November, 1971. Another person was held from Betpotti area of Rangpur town on December 1 that year. He was tortured at the hostel of Rangpur College. Political career ATM Azharul Islam was allegedly former president of Rangpur district unit Islami Chhatra Sangha, the former name of student wing of Jamaat. He was Al-Badr commander of Rangpur. He had a superior responsibility of killing around 1,200 people there. He is son of late Nazir Hossain and Ramicha Khatun at Batasan Lohanipara in Badarganj upazila under Rangpur. He was a student of Rangpur Carmichael College at the time of Liberation War. Arrest On August 22, 2012, police arrested Azharul from his Moghbazar house following arrest warrant issued by the tribunal. He was indicted on November 12 last year (2013). A number of 15 prosecution witnesses (PW) adduced evidence in the case against him. A total of 15 verdicts were passed so far. Of those, the ICT passed 6 verdicts passed in 2014. Besides, SC passed 1 verdict. Total 7 verdicts passed in 2014. It may be noted that the verdict on Kamaruzzaman is counted twice as SC and ICT both passed verdict on him. The ICT sentenced Jamaat Ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami to death on October 29, 2014, Jamaat financier Mir Kashem Ali to death on November 2, 2014, BNP leader Khokon Razakar to death on Nov 13, 2014, Jamaat-turned-Awami League Mobarak Hossain to death on November 24, 2014, Muslim League-turned-Jatiya Party leader Syed Mohammad Kaiser to death on December 23, 2014 and Jamaat leader Azahar to death On December 30, 2014. Besides, the Supreme Court upheld death sentence of Jamaat assistant secretary general Muhammad Kamaruzzaman on Nov 3, 2014.
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