The Supreme Court of Bangladesh has declared the death sentence of senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader Azharul Islam null and void, ordering his immediate release unless he is wanted in other cases.
According to Turkish news agency Anadolu, a seven-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed unanimously overturned its previous ruling and quashed the death penalty awarded to Azharul Islam.
Azharul Islam was sentenced to death in 2014 by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Dhaka, established in 2009 by the then government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to try suspects accused of war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War. Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power last year following a student-led movement.
The ICT handed down sentences to several senior leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), with six individuals executed. Opposition parties and international human rights organizations have long criticized these trials as politically motivated and lacking judicial fairness.
Speaking outside the court, Azharul Islam’s lawyer, Mohammad Shashir Munir, welcomed the verdict as a restoration of justice, saying, “The truth has come out and justice has been served for the Jamaat leader.”
Munir added that the court described the previous ruling as a mockery of justice, noting it was issued without proper evaluation of evidence and witness testimonies. The court had earlier allowed Azharul Islam to file a fresh appeal in February.
While many in Bangladesh support the ICT’s mission to bring war criminals to justice, international watchdogs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have strongly criticized the tribunal for falling short of international fair trial standards.
Azharul Islam had been convicted for alleged killings, genocide, and other crimes committed in northern Rangpur during the 1971 war.
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman welcomed the court’s decision, claiming it confirmed the party’s long-standing allegations of political vendetta. He accused former Chief Justice S.K. Sinha of conspiring to execute Jamaat leaders using fabricated evidence under the directive of Sheikh Hasina.