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Supreme Court Acquits Jamaat-e-Islami Leader Sentenced for 1971 War Crimes

The court’s unprecedented overturning of its own judgment has triggered university protests, deepening rifts over justice for Liberation War crimes.

Bangladesh's senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader A.T.M. Azharul Islam was acquitted on Tuesday -- this photograph was taken in 2014 following the verdict for his now-overturned death sentence
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Overview

  • In a precedent-setting move, the Appellate Division’s seven-judge bench rescinded its own 2019 verdict and acquitted ATM Azharul Islam, overturning his 2014 death sentence for crimes against humanity.
  • Islam had been convicted of killing 1,256 people, abducting 17 individuals and raping 13 women in the Rangpur region during the 1971 Liberation War.
  • The Awami League denounced the ruling as a betrayal of war martyrs, while Jamaat-e-Islami leaders praised the decision and commemorated party members previously executed.
  • Interim leader Muhammad Yunus’s government has been accused of weakening the war crimes accountability process and favoring Islamist figures since assuming power.
  • Students and civil society activists staged protests at major universities today, demanding protection of historic justice and greater transparency in the judiciary.