SC upholds life in jail for Sayedee

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday upheld its earlier verdict that had handed convicted war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee life-term imprisonment for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.

The five-member bench led by chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha dismissed two separate petitions of Sayedee and the government seeking review of its previous order.

Sayedee has to serve prison time until his natural death from now on.

On 28 February 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 sentenced Sayedee to death for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971, according to news agency UNB.

On 28 March 2013, Sayedee filed an appeal with the apex court seeking acquittal from the charges, while the government on the same day separately appealed to the Supreme Court demanding capital punishment in all the eight charges he faced.

The SC on 31 December 2015 released the full text of its verdict commuting Sayedee’s death penalty to jail unto death in the case. It pronounced its verdict on 17 September 2014.

On 12 January last year, the prosecution filed a review petition seeking death penalty for the influential Jamaat leader.

On 17 January, Sayedee filed a plea seeking review of the SC verdict. In the petition, he sought acquittal in all the charges in which he was found guilty.

According to the prosecution, Sayedee was involved in crimes like killing, looting, rape and forcefully converting Hindus to Muslims in Parerhat of Pirojpur district.

Source: Prothom Alo