The Supreme Court (SC) will hear on Monday the review petitions filed by condemned war crimes convicts Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury against its verdicts upholding their death penalties for their crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.

A four-member SC bench, led by Chief Justice SK Sinha, will hear the petitions.

On October 20, SC Chamber Judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain fixed November 2 for the hearing.

Meanwhile, Mojaheed has sought time for the hearing while SQ Chowdhury appealed for taking testimony of several people.

These appeals will be added with the review hearing, said their lawyers.

Earlier on October 14, Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed and BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury filed the review petitions with the SC against its verdicts that upheld their death penalties for crimes against humanity during the 1971 war.

The SC on September 30 released the full verdicts awarding death penalty to Mojaheed and SQ Chowdhury for their crimes against humanity during the war, clearing the way for the execution of the judgments.

Earlier, the court on June 16 upheld the death sentence awarded by the ICT-2 to Mojaheed for killing intellectuals during the war.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, delivered the short order of the verdict.

The Appellate Division upheld the tribunal order sentencing the Jamaat leader to death for provoking and assisting Al Badr to kill intellectuals after confining them to Teacher’s Training Institute in Dhaka.

The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on July 17, 2013 awarded Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed death penalty for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in collaboration with the Pakistan occupation forces, after finding the Al Badr boss guilty of five, out of seven, charges.

On August 11, 2013, condemned convict Mojaheed filed an appeal with the Appellate Division against his capital punishment awarded by the ICT-2.

Mojaheed was arrested on charge of hurting religious sentiment on June 29, 2010 and later he was shown arrested in a case filed for committing crimes against humanity on August 2 that year.

On July 29, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of the then International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) that had condemned BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to death for committing crimes against humanity, including rape and mass killing during the Liberation War 43 years ago.

On October 1, 2013, the then International Crimes Tribunal-1 found the BNP leader guilty of crimes against humanity during the war of liberation and condemned him to death.

On October 29 of the same year, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the ICT verdict.

UNB/RI