DE News Desk :
Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam was released from custody on Wednesday morning, a day after the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court overturned his conviction for crimes against humanity during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.
Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (Dhaka Division) Jahangir Kabir confirmed the release, stating that Azhar walked free from the prison ward of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) around 9:05am.
Azhar, who had been on death row since 2014, was acquitted by a full bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed. On Tuesday, the court unanimously revoked both its 2019 verdict upholding the capital punishment and the original 2014 ruling by the International Crimes Tribunal-1, which sentenced him to death for atrocities including mass killings in Rangpur during the war.
In its judgment, the apex court cited significant flaws in the prosecution’s case, pointing to insufficient evidence and procedural inconsistencies that failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Despite his release in the war crimes case, Azhar still faces 10 other pending criminal cases, confirmed prison official Jahangir Kabir.
The acquittal marks one of the most high-profile reversals in the country’s war crimes trials, drawing attention to the standards of evidence and judicial process in such cases.