A.T.M. Azharul Islam, a Jamaat leader who had been sentenced to death and various terms of imprisonment for crimes against humanity during Bangladesh's War of Liberation in 1971, has been released from jail.
He was freed from Dhaka Central Jail at 9:05 AM today, Wednesday (May 28), while admitted to Bangladesh Medical University Hospital.
Jannat-ul Forhad, Assistant Inspector General of Prisons at the Directorate of Prisons, confirmed this information.
Acquittal in War Crimes Case
Earlier yesterday, Tuesday (May 27), Jamaat leader A.T.M. Azharul Islam was acquitted of the death penalty and various prison sentences in the case of crimes against humanity during the 1971 War of Liberation. The Supreme Court's Appellate Division on that day overturned the International Crimes Tribunal's 2014 verdict, which had found him guilty in six incidents of genocide, murder, abduction, and torture.
A seven-judge bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refat Ahmed, unanimously delivered this verdict. The ruling came after hearing Azhar's appeal against the Tribunal's verdict for the second time in six years. This marks the first time someone has been acquitted on appeal in a case of crimes against humanity from 1971 following a review petition.
Background and Release Details
Azharul had filed a second appeal against his death sentence after the change of government last August. In the first instance, the full bench of the Appellate Division in 2019 had upheld his death sentence. Immediately after Azharul's acquittal was announced yesterday afternoon, a summary verdict was released by the Appellate Division after the judges' signatures. Subsequently, the International Crimes Tribunal issued an order for his release in accordance with the rules.
Azharul Islam had been receiving treatment at the Bangladesh Medical University Hospital in Shahbagh, Dhaka, for the past several months. The then Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami was arrested from his Moghbazar residence on August 22, 2012.
