The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has declared penalty of two convicts in wartime crimes invalid due to their death.
The Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Hasan Fayez Siddiqui issued the order on Wednesday (February 2).
The apex court abated appeals of two war crimes case convicts from Keshabpur in Jashore against their conviction and sentences by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1, as the two have already died of natural causes in jail custody. “Criminal appeal number 136/2016 with jail appeal number 05/16 and 06/16 are abated,” the apex court order said.
The two convicts are former lawmaker Maulana Sakhawat Hossain who was awarded a death sentence for committing crimes against humanity in 1971, and Billal Hossain Biswas, who was awarded life term imprisonment in the case.
On August 10 in 2016, the ICT-1 awarded a death sentence to Maulana Sakhawat Hossain, who was a Jatiya Party politician and previously lawmaker from tickets of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. The tribunal also awarded imprisonment till natural death to seven associates of Sakhawat Hossain.
The other seven convicts are Billal Hossain Biswas, Md Ibrahim Hossain, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Md Abdul Aziz Sarder, Qazi Ohidul Islam alias Wahidur Salam, Md Aziz Sarder and Abdul Khalek Morol.
After getting penalty, Keshabpur Razakar commander Sakhawat Hossain and Billal Hossain Biswas had filed appeals against their conviction with the Appellate Division. However, Billal died in 2018 and Sakhawat died recently in jail, before the hearing of their appeals.
Sakhwat was elected member of parliament from Jashore-6 constituency from Jamaat-e-Islami and joined BNP in 1995. He later joined Jatiya Party and became presidium member of the party.