Sobhan's appeal hearing 16 Oct

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court Wednesday set 16 October 16 hold hearing on appeal filed by Jamaat leader Maulana Abdus Sobhan against the death sentence handed down to him by ICT,B-2 for committing crimes against humanity in 1971.

The apex court also ordered the state and the defence to submit within two weeks the concise statement of their appeal arguments, on which they would like to rely on, before it.

"Adjourned till 16 October," said a three-member Appellate Division bench headed by chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha as the matter came up as the third item on its cause list.

The now defunct International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh-2 (ICT,B-2) on 18 February 2015, sentenced the former nayeb-e-ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami to death as it found him guilty of six charges including one for genocide out of the total nine.

Sobhan on 18 March filed the appeal against his tribunal conviction, pleading for acquittal from the charges.

Sobhan was the founding ameer of Jamaat in Pabna and a majlish-e-sura member of the central unit of Jamaat in undivided Pakistan.

Earlier on 13 August, the Appellate Division fixed 10 October for hearing the appeals filed by Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam and former Jatiya Party state minister Syed Mohammad Qaiser, challenging the international Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh (ICT,B) verdict that sentenced them to death.

The ICT,B - a domestic tribunal set up in 2009 shortly after the assumption of power by Bangladesh Awami League to investigate and prosecute suspects for the crimes against humanity committed in 1971 - has awarded death penalties to several opposition top figures.

Source: bss