CJ off war crimes bench

The Appellate Division bench, which hears appeals against verdicts of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), has been reconstituted. Chief Justice M Muzammel Hossain and Justice Hasan Foez Siddique will not be in it. The new bench now has Justice Md Imman Ali. Justices Md Abdul Wahhab Miah and AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury will remain in it, according to the cause list released by the Appellate Division on Sunday. The changes were made ahead of Sunday’s appeal hearing for Jamaat Leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during Bangladesh’s independence struggle in 1971. The bench which hears appeals against war crimes verdicts has been reorganised before other appeals by those convicted of ‘crimes against humanity’ are heard. Having only four Justices in the bench, is however a first. The numbers of judges in this bench, however, are always more than that by the previous court, according to bdnews24.com.