Former state minister Syed Mohammad Kayser, who was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, died while undergoing treatment at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in the capital.
Subhash Kumar, senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail; and Syed Mohammad Faisal, younger brother of Kayser, confirmed the matter.
According to them, the 77-year-old Syed Mohammad Kayser died at the prison cell of BSMMU around 5:15 am on Friday (February 11). His body was sent to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy. After the postmortem, the body will be handed over to his family members, said Subhash Kumar.
Syed Mohammad Faisal said that his brother had been undergoing treatment at the BSMMU’s prison cell under the Dhaka Central Jail. His body will be buried at the family graveyard at Noapara in Madhabpur upazila of Habiganj.
Jatiya Party leader Syed Mohammad Kayser was arrested on May 15 in 2013 following a case filed over wartime crimes.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on December 13 in 2014 sentenced him to death for committing crimes against humanity, including mass killing, rape, murder, and confinement and torture of pro-liberation people in Brahmanbaria and Habiganj during the 1971 war.
The ICT also sentenced him to death on seven charges, life term imprisonment on four charges, and 22-year jail on three other charges.
Later, Kaiser filed an appeal petition against the verdict. On January 14 in 2020, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty of the Jatiya Party leader, awarded by the ICT.
After publication of full text of the verdict of the Appellate Division, the ICT in 2020 issued a death warrant against him. The death warrant has been sent to the Dhaka Central Jail, Keraniganj, secretaries to the Home Ministry, and Law Ministry as well as the District Magistrate.
