Convicted war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury has further sought an adjournment from the Supreme Court on hearing his appeal challenging his death penalty.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha is scheduled to start hearing the appeal today.
The BNP leader filed an application with the SC on Sunday through his lawyers seeking a four-week adjournment on hearing the appeal, saying his lawyers needed time for submitting some relevant papers.
Earlier on October 1, 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 found Salauddin guilty of nine of 23 charges of crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the country’s Liberation War in 1971.
The tribunal sentenced him to death for four charges, 20 years in jail for three charges and five years in jail for two other charges.
Salauddin was the only sitting member of parliament to have been convicted of war crimes and condemned to hang. The BNP leader on October 29, 2013 appealed to the SC against the verdict seeking acquittal of all charges.
Citing from the adjournment petition, Shishir Manir, a lawyer for Salauddin, told The Daily Star that his client could not annex the copies of orders passed by ICT-1 on different days during trial proceedings of the case against him along with his appeal filed with the SC.
Salauddin has prayed to the SC registrar for the copies of the tribunal orders, since the registrar of the tribunal has said the copies were sent to the apex court, he added.
Earlier on April 15, the SC adjourned the hearing of Salauddin’s appeal following a time prayer moved by his lawyer Khandker Mahbub Hossain, saying they would remain busy due to polls to the city corporations and Bangladesh Bar Council, which were then scheduled to be held on April 28 and May 20.
The Bar Council election has now been deferred to August 13 as per an order of the SC.
Source: The Daily Star