The Supreme Court (SC) has set Jun 18 for the appeal hearings of convicted war criminals, Jamaat leader ATM Azharul Islam and former Jatiya Party (JP) state minister Syed Md Qaiser.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, passed the order on Wednesday (Apr 10).
The appeals were filed challenging the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) verdict that sentenced both Azhar and Qaiser to death.
Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain represented Azhar, while SM Shahjahan represented Qaiser.
The now-defunct International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) 2, on Dec 23, 2014, sentenced former Jatiya Party state minister, Syed Md Qaiser, to death, after 14 charges out of the total 16 framed against him were proven beyond any doubt.
He was given death penalty for seven charges; life imprisonment for four charges; jail terms of ten, seven and five years for three charges; and was acquitted of the two remaining charges. His jail terms will be merged with the death sentences.
Qaiser filed an appeal against his conviction on Jan 19, 2015.
On Dec 30, 2014, ICT 1 sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam to death, for war crimes committed in Rangpur. He was found guilty for five charges out of six.
He was given 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for one charge and five years in another, and acquitted of the other remaining charges. Azhar filed his appeal on Jan 28, 2015.
The tribunal, in its observation, also asked the state to initiate a compensation scheme for rape victims of 1971 and "war babies" – children of women raped by the Pakistan army or anti-liberation forces.