Bangladesh interim government law adviser Asif Nazrul on Tuesday credited the ‘undaunted leadership of the July mass movement’ for creating the conditions necessary to ensure that death row convict and Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam, convicted of committing war crimes, gets justice.
In a Facebook post following the Supreme Court’s decision to acquit Azharul of charges of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, Asif Nazrul stated that the mass uprising paved the way for an independent judiciary capable of delivering justice to Azharul Islam.
‘Azhar has been acquitted because he is innocent,’ Asif Nazrul wrote, adding, ‘It is now our collective responsibility to safeguard this hard-earned opportunity to uphold it.’
The Appellate Division on Tuesday overturned both the 2014 International Crimes Tribunal verdict sentencing Azhar to death and its own 2019 ruling that had upheld the sentence, citing lack of evidence and failure to meet the required standards of proof.