Mir Quasem to seek review

Condemned war crimes convict Jamaat leader Mir Quasem Ali will file a petition with the Supreme Court seeking a review of its verdict upholding his death penalty for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War, said Quasem’s counsel Matiur Rahman Akanda today.

Talking to reporters at Kashimpur Central Jail gate, Akanda said the Jamaat leader will file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict upholding the judgment of the International Crimes Tribunal that sentenced him to death.

Earlier, lawyers of Mir Quasem met him at the Kashimpur Jail in the morning.

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A 5-member team of lawyers, including the convict’s son barrister Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, barrister Najibur Rahman, barrister Nurullah and adv Matiur Rahman Akanda, entered the jail around 11:00am to meet Quasem, said Prosanto Kumar Banik, jail super of the central jail part-2.

They spent about an hour with Quasem and got out of the jail, Prosanto Kumar Banik added.

On Tuesday, the prison authorities read out the death warrant to Mir Quasem Ali at the jail.

On Monday, the International Crimes Tribunal issued the death warrant for the Jamaat-e-Islami leader hours after the Supreme Court released the full text of its verdict upholding his death penalty.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court released the full text of its verdict upholding the death penalty of Mir Quasem Ali.

On March 8, the Appellate Division upheld the death penalty for Mir Quasem Ali for his crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

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A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, came up with the verdict, after allowing in part the appeal filed by the Jamaat leader challenging the tribunal's death sentence.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 in a verdict had sentenced Mir Quasem Ali, Al-Badr chief in the port city of Chittagong in 1971, to death on November 2, 2014.

On November 30, 2014, Mir Quasem filed an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the death penalty.

Among the total 14 charges brought against Mir Quasem for war crimes, the tribunal convicted him on 10 counts of charges and acquitted him from four.

The Appellate Division started hearing the appeal on February 9, 2016.