A five-member team of defence lawyers will meet convicted war criminal, also Jamaat leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, at Dhaka Central Jail on Thursday morning.
Deputy Jailer Lavlu told the Dhaka Tribune that according to the wish of death row convict Kamaruzzaman the jail authorities have approved his plea to meet with the lawyers.
“The lawyers were told to meet the Jamaat leader around 11am on Thursday,” he said.
“A five-member defence lawyer team will meet Kamaruzzaman at 11am on Thursday,” said defence lawyer Shishir Monir.
Meanwhile, a copy of war crimes convict Muhammad Kamaruzzaman’s review rejection order has been sent to the International Crimes Tribunal.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, High Court Division Additional Registrar Md Sabbir Faiz said a copy of the 36-page judgement was sent to the tribunal 2 on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, the judges of the Supreme Court signed the copy of war crimes convict Muhammad Kamaruzzaman’s review rejection order, two days after it was delivered.
Earlier in the day, the judges of four-member Appellate Division received the 36-page judgement written by Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik, for scrutiny and approved it.
Farman Ali, senior jail superintendent, Tuesday said they would take preparation to execute the war crimes convict once the verdict copy reaches the jail where Kamaruzzaman has been kept.
“After receiving the verdict, the jail authorities can ask the death row Jamaat leader whether he will seek presidential mercy. If the president rejects the mercy petition or Kamaruzzaman does not seek the clemency admitting the crimes, the death sentences would be executed upon the government directives.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told the journalists that the jail authorities cannot execute Kamaruzzaman unless they get a copy of the SC verdict.
As per the jail code, a convict gets seven days to seek the presidential mercy after the jail authorities receive the death warrant and communicate it to the convict.
Kamaruzzaman’s counsel Shishir Manir Tuesday said: “We are yet to get the copy. After the copy reaches the jail, he will consult with us and the family members on the matter of seeking presidential clemency.”
On May 9, 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal 2 handed down death penalty to Kamaruzzaman, the key organiser of notorious Al-Badr force in greater Mymensingh, for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
The Jamaat leader appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court challenging the verdict. But the SC upheld the ICT decision on March 7.
Later, the he sought review of the judgment that was rejected by the four-member SC bench headed by the chief justice on Monday.
Later in the day, 16 members of the family, including his wife and children, met him at the jail.
Following the pronouncement of the verdict, speculations ran high that Kamaruzzaman might be executed Monday night and it grew stronger when the jail authorities asked Kamaruzzaman’s family to meet him in the afternoon.
The jail authorities usually allow family members of a convict hours before execution.
The al-Badr leader has been in jail since July 29, 2010 when he was arrested in a case of hurting religious sentiment. He was shown arrested in the war crimes case on October 2 the same year.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
