SC blasts ICT chief prosecutor over comments on Abul Kalam Azad appeal

The Supreme Court today blasted International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Md Aminul Islam for giving comments to the media on the pending appeal of Abul Kalam Azad, alias Bachchu, against his death sentence for crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Justice Md Rezaul Haque, also asked the chief prosecutor to refrain from making public comments on the appeal until it concludes the hearing on its admissibility, Aminul himself told The Daily Star.

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The chief prosecutor said he had recently told reporters at a media briefing that there was no scope for the appeal to be admitted as it was time-barred. He said an appeal must be filed within 30 days of receiving the certified copy of a verdict.

“The court (Appellate Division) raised the issue today (Tuesday), saying the matter is currently being heard by them (the judges of the apex court),” he said.

He quoted the Appellate Division as telling him, “If you make statements about it in the media, then what is left for us to adjudicate?”

“I replied, ‘Okay, my lord, I will not make any further comments on the matter in the future',” the chief prosecutor said.

Asked about the matter, he said the Appellate Division might have raised the issue based on media reports of his briefing, as no lawyer had mentioned it before the court.

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ICT chief prosecutor says interim govt order allowing Abul Kalam Azad to appeal death sentence was unlawful

The Appellate Division adjourned the hearing on Abul Kalam Azad's appeal for four weeks after its upcoming vacation, he said.

Both the Appellate and High Court Divisions of the Supreme Court will go into their annual vacation on September 16 and reopen on October 25.

Barrister Ehsan A Siddiq appeared for Abul Kalam Azad during the hearing.

He filed the appeal on July 6, along with a petition seeking condonation of the 4,915-day delay in filing it, challenging the judgment delivered by the International Crimes Tribunal 13 years ago in the case involving crimes against humanity.

He also sought a stay on the execution of the death sentence imposed by the tribunal until the appeal is disposed of.

The ICT sentenced Abul Kalam Azad to death on January 21, 2013, in the case. He had already been absconding at the time.

Following the change in the political landscape after the July uprising of 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification on October 22 last year suspending Abul Kalam Azad’s death sentence for one year. News of his return to the country had emerged before that.