Death row convict Abul Kalam Azad surrenders

Bangla Press Desk:   Abul Kalam Azad, a fugitive sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, surrendered to the International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday morning.

Azad, who remained at large for over a decade, faced eight specific charges of atrocities committed during the conflict.

Last year, Azad applied to the Ministry of Home Affairs to suspend his sentence under Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This move followed the original verdict delivered on 21 January 2013, by Justice Obaidul Hassan, Chairman of the International Crimes Tribunal-2, who handed down the death penalty.

Out of the eight charges, the court convicted him on seven counts. The tribunal awarded the death penalty for three specific charges. While the law permitted imprisonment for the remaining four proven charges, the court refrained from awarding separate sentences due to the capital punishment already issued. The tribunal dismissed one charge as the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence.

This verdict marked the first-ever judgment in a war crimes case in Bangladesh. However, authorities could not produce Azad in court at the time as he had already fled the country. Law enforcement agencies reported that he escaped to Pakistan via India shortly before the court issued his arrest warrant.

BP/SP