The Appellate Division on Thursday set January 23 for hearing a review petition submitted by death-row convict and Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam in connection with crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

A five-member bench, led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed, fixed the date after senior lawyer Barrister Abdur Razzak, accompanied by others, submitted the review petition on behalf of the Jamaat leader.

Following his arrest, ATM Azhar faced nine charges of crimes against humanity.

According to the chargesheet, he was ‘responsible’ for killing 1,256 people, abducting 17, and raping 13 women during the Liberation War in the Rangpur region. Besides, he was said to have tortured civilians, set fire to hundreds of houses, and committed other atrocities.

The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced him to death on December 30, 2014, in five out of the nine charges.

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On January 28, 2015, the death-row convict submitted a petition to the Appellate Division, claiming his innocence.

Later, on July 19, 2020, Azharul Islam filed the review petition with the relevant branch of the Appellate Division.

Following an appeal hearing, the Appellate Division, under a bench led by then-Chief Justice Syed Mahmud, upheld the death penalty in a verdict delivered on October 23, 2019.

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The full text of the Appellate Division’s verdict was released on March 15, 2020, after which ATM Azhar submitted the review petition.