War crimes: SQ Chy’s appeal hearing begins

The Supreme Court today began hearing on the appeal against death penalty handed to war criminal and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

A four-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha began hearing proceedings at 10:45am.

Salauddin’s lawyer SM Shahjahan placed the charges brought against the senior BNP leader before the Appellate Division. Hearing will continue until 1:15pm.

Earlier in the day, the apex court binned a petition, filed by Salauddin, seeking a four-week adjournment on hearing of the appeal citing reasons that lawyers needed time to produce papers.

On October 1, 2013, International Crimes Tribunal-1 found Salauddin guilty of nine of the 23 charges brought against him of committing crimes against humanity during Liberation War of 1971.

The tribunal handed him death penalty on four charges, 20 years in jail for three charges and five years in jail for two other charges.

Salauddin was the only sitting member of parliament to have been convicted of war crimes and condemned to hang. The BNP leader on October 29, 2013 appealed to the SC against the verdict seeking acquittal of all charges.

Citing from the adjournment petition, Shishir Manir, a lawyer for Salauddin, told The Daily Star that his client could not annex the copies of orders passed by ICT-1 on different days during trial proceedings of the case against him along with his appeal filed with the SC.

Salauddin prayed to the SC registrar for the copies of the tribunal orders, since the registrar of the tribunal has said the copies were sent to the apex court, he added.