NN Online:
ATM Azharul Islam, a senior leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, has been released from Dhaka Central Jail after being acquitted by the Supreme Court in a long-running war crimes case.
Jailer AKM Masum confirmed that Azharul was freed at 9:05 am on Wednesday following the completion of all legal formalities, including the verification of the case withdrawal and release orders.
Azharul, formerly the acting secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, had been in prison since August 23, 2012. In September last year, he was moved from Kashimpur High Security Central Jail to Dhaka Central Jail for advanced medical treatment and was later admitted to hospital.
His acquittal was delivered on Tuesday by a full seven-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed. The verdict followed the hearing of Azharul’s second appeal in six years.
This ruling marks a significant legal and political development—the first acquittal of a war crimes convict through a review petition—following the political upheaval triggered by the July Uprising.
