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Ghulam Azam's Verdict

Govt appeals for death penalty

Seeks ban on Jamaal

Staff Correspondent
The government has appealed to the Supreme Court seeking death penalty for convicted war criminal Ghulam Azam and a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, of which he was the chief.
The appeal was filed yesterday despite several government high-ups, including the prime minister, had expressed satisfaction over the tribunal verdict that sentenced F < Ghulam Azam to 90 years in prison for mas- k terminding crimes against humanity and '
genocide during the Liberation War.
The International Crimes Tribunal-1 in its verdict on July 15 had said Ghulam Azam, now 91, deserved the death sentence but he was given jail terms due to his old age and poor health.
Justice seekers and victims' families were livid with the sentence handed down to Ghulam Azam, who is considered by many to be the symbol of war crimes in Bangladesh.
Against this backdrop, the government appealed against the
"inadequate" sentencing of Ghulam Azam, former ameer of the anti-liberation political party Jamaat-e-Islami.
It the appeal, the government said the International Crimes Tribunal-1 had acted beyond the law by not giving Ghulam Azam the death sentence even though all the charges brought against him were proved beyond reasonable doubt.
It said the tribunal had gone out of its way to consider the convict's old age and poor health.
MK Rahman, additional attorney general and chief coordinator of the war crimes prosecution team, told The Daily Star that the appeal had been filed under the amended International Crimes (Tribunal) Act, 1973, which allows the government to appeal against any inadequate sentencing of a war criminal.
The amendment, passed in parliament on February 17 this year, also empowers the war crimes tribunals to hold trials of any organisation in connection with crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the war.
In yesterday's appeal, the government said Jamaat-e-Islami had committed crimes against humanity and atrocities during the Liberation War and the party had not changed its anti-liberation stance in the last 42 years.
The party had not even apologised to the nation for its criminal and antiliberation activities, the appeal petition added.
The government sought the ban on Jamaat mentioning that the party was termed a criminal organisation by the tribunal.
Meanwhile, a top official of the investigation agency probing war crimes told The Daily Star that this week they would formally start enquiring into Jamaat's role in the war.
Jamaat is on the back foot as several of its top leaders are either on trial at the international crimes tribunals or have been convicted of war crimes.
The Supreme Court in a recent verdict also declared the party's registration with the Election Commission illegal, which made the Islamist party unfit for competing in the general elections.
The party has called for a 48-hour hartal from today to protest the Supreme Court verdict.
On August 5, Ghulam Azam filed an appeal with the apex court seeking an overturn of his conviction and the 90-year jail sentence he received from the tribunal.
In his appeal, Ghulam Azam said in the eye of the law, the tribunal judgment was not a verdict at all since there had been nothing related to offences or crimes against humanity and genocide in the charges brought against him.