SC to hear review plea next week

The Supreme Court is set to hear next week a petition filed by war criminal Motiur Rahman Nizami seeking review of the judgement that upheld his death penalty.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha informed this while hearing Nizami's adjournment petition yesterday.

Defence counsel SM Shahjahan told reporters that they sought six-week adjournment on hearing the review petition on the ground of personal difficulties of Nizami's principal lawyer Khandker Mahbub Hossain.

But the apex court said it would hold hearing on the petition next week, Shahjahan said.

On March 29, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Nizami filed the review petition through his lawyers, praying to the apex court to acquit him of all the charges on which he was found guilty.

Nizami mentioned 46 grounds in his 70-page petition.

On October 29, 2014, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 gave him the capital punishment on four charges of war crimes, including murdering intellectuals during the Liberation War in 1971.

The 71-year-old was also awarded life imprisonment on four other charges.

The SC on January 6 this year upheld his death sentence on three charges and life term imprisonment on two other charges.

On March 15, the apex court released the full verdict. The ICT issued death warrant for him hours after the SC had released its full verdict. The following day, the jail authorities read out the judgement before the convict.