Full text of SC review verdicts on SQ Chy, Mojaheed published

The Supreme Court on Thursday published the full text of its verdicts rejecting the review petitions of war crimes convicts Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury. The written verdicts were published after the four judges — Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Hasan Foyez Siddique — of the Appellate Division bench signed the copies of the verdicts turning down the reviews petitions against its earlier orders upholding their death sentences for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971. Earlier in the day, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam at a press briefing at the Supreme Court said the written text of the verdicts will be sent to the jail authorities through the tribunal. The jail authorities will take necessary steps to execute the verdicts after getting the verdict copies. On Wednesday, the SC upheld its previous verdicts on Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, rejecting their pleas for reviewing death penalties for their war crimes. A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, dismissed the review petitions of the duo. On October 14, Mojaheed and SQ Chowdhury filed the review petitions with the SC against its verdicts that upheld their death penalties for their crimes against humanity during the 1971 war. On October 1, the International Crimes Tribunal had issued death warrants against them. The SC on September 30 released the full verdicts awarding death penalties to them for their crimes against humanity during the war, clearing the way for the execution of the judgment. The court on June 16 upheld the death sentence awarded by the ICT-2 to Mojaheed for killing intellectuals during the war. The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on July 17, 2013 awarded Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed death penalty for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in collaboration with the Pakistan occupation forces, after finding the Al Badr boss guilty of five charges, out of seven. On August 11, 2013, condemned convict Mojaheed filed an appeal with the Appellate Division against his capital punishment awarded by the ICT-2. Mojaheed was arrested on charge of hurting religious sentiment on June 29, 2010 and later he was shown arrested in a case filed for committing crimes against humanity on August 2 that year. Earlier, the court on June 29 upheld the death sentence awarded by ICT-1 to him for committing crimes against humanity, including rape and mass killing, during the Liberation War, 43 years ago. On October 1, 2013, the then International Crimes Tribunal-1 found Salauddin Quader Chowdhury guilty of crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation and condemned him to death. On October 29 of the same year, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the ICT verdict. –UNB, Dhaka