Kamaruzzaman appeal hearing deferred

The Appellate Division has deferred appeal hearing of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman in a war crimes case and fixed it for June 3. A four-member bench headed by Justice SK Sinha issued the order on Tuesday after hearing the plea by the defence counsel. Kamaruzzaman’s lawyer Khandker Mahbub Hossain filed the plea seeking five weeks to prepare for the hearing. This is the first time the chief justice is not in the bench hearing the appeals against verdicts of the war crimes cases. Justice Sinha is being assisted by justices Md Abdul Wahhab Miah, AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury and Hasan Foez Siddique. The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Kamaruzzaman to death for his ‘crimes against humanity’ during the country’s independence struggles un 1971. Kamaruzzaman appealed against the verdict on June 6 last year. But the prosecution did not file any appeal as the accused was awarded maximum penalty, according to bdnews24.com.