Sawt Falasteen - Bangladesh top court acquits Islamist leader on death row: lawyer

A.T.M. Azharul Islam, from the Jamaat-e-Islami party, and who has been in custody since 2012, was acquitted of crimes against humanity by the Supreme Court, which ordered his release.

Islam, who was born in 1952, was among six senior political leaders convicted during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina, whose 15-year-long autocratic rule as prime minister ended in August 2024 when a student-led revolt forced her to flee.

Political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, are readying for hugely anticipated elections which the interim government has vowed will take place by June 2026 at the latest.

Islam's lawyer Shishir Monir said he was "fortunate" because the five other senior political leaders who had been convicted -- four from Jamaat-e-Islami, and another from the key Bangladesh National Party (BNP) -- had already been hanged.

"He got justice because he is alive", Monir told reporters. "The appellate division failed to review the evidence in other cases for crimes against humanity".

Islam had been sentenced to death in 2014 for rape, murder and genocide during Bangladesh's 1971 independence war from Pakistan.

Jamaat-e-Islami supported Islamabad during the war, a role that still sparks anger among many Bangladeshis today.

- 'Seek your pardon' -

They were rivals of Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of the Awami League -- who would become Bangladesh's founding figure.

Hasina banned Jamaat-e-Islami during her tenure and cracked down on its leaders.

Islam appealed in 2015, but the court upheld the verdict in 2019, and he filed a review petition in 2020.

Hasina, 77, fled to India last year as crowds stormed her palace, and she remains there in self-imposed exile -- with her Awami League party itself now banned.

She has defied Dhaka's extradition request to face charges of crimes against humanity related to the crackdown that killed at least 1,400 protesters in her failed bid to claw onto power.

With Hasina gone, Islam appealed his conviction again, filing an appeal on February 27.

On Tuesday, the full bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, acquitted him.

Supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami celebrated. Leader Shafiqur Rahman told reporters that the party was also remembering those who had been hanged.

"They were the victims of judicial killings," he said.

"If they were alive today, they could have led the country in the right direction. People will always remember their contributions to the nation".

As political parties jostle for power, rivals of Jamaat-e-Islami have also questioned its historical role in supporting Pakistan during the 1971 war.

"We, as individuals or as a party, are not beyond making mistakes", Rahman said, without specifying further what he referred to, and declining to take questions.

"We seek your pardon, if we have done anything wrong".

E.Aziz--SF-PST