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The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday resumed hearing of the review petition filed by death row convict ATM Azharul Islam, a senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader, challenging his death sentence for crimes against humanity committed during the War of Independence.

A five-member bench, led by chief justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, adjourned the hearing until Wednesday.


Senior lawyer Ehsan Abdullah Siddiq, representing Azhar, argued that the war crimes trials, including his client鈥檚, were unlawful as they did not conform to the international customary law.

When asked about the Appellate Division鈥檚 previous ruling that international customary law does not apply to Bangladesh鈥檚 domestic war crimes tribunal, Siddiq dismissed the court鈥檚 stance, calling its finding 鈥榳rong.鈥櫶�

Azhar鈥檚 legal team initiated the review process after prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted and fled to India following a student-led mass uprising on August 5, 2024.

Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists, including the party鈥檚 secretary general Mia Golam Parwar, were present in court during the proceedings.

The hearing comes amid Jamaat鈥檚 nationwide movement demanding Azhar鈥檚 release.

Azhar filed a 23-page review petition on July 19, 2020, citing 14 legal grounds for reconsideration. The petition was initially submitted by the now-deceased advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain and his junior Mohammad Shishir Manir.

On October 31, 2019, a four-member Appellate Division bench, led by then-Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, upheld Azhar鈥檚 death sentence in a majority verdict. The ruling affirmed four charges against him while acquitting him on one count. The full verdict was released on March 15, 2020, paving the way for the review petition.

Azhar, allegedly the commander of the Al-Badr force in Rangpur during the liberation war in 1971, also served as the president of Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, a party that opposed Bangladesh鈥檚 independence and collaborated with the Pakistani occupation army.