DHAKA: Lawyer of condemned war criminal Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami urged to commute his client’s death penalty, admitting ‘guilt of war crimes’.

Nizami’s main lawyer advocate Khandakar Mahbub Hossain, during appeal hearing on Wednesday, appealed to the Supreme Court to reduce the sentence from death penalty to life imprisonment.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam opined that it is the first incident in which lawyer of a top leader of Jamaat-e-Islami admitted the guilt of wartime crimes.

Earlier in the day, the lawyers of condemned war criminal Nizami concluded placing their arguments at the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC).

Then, state counsel started placing their argument at the Division in Nizami’s appeal hearing.

Later, the 4-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice SK Sinha, adjourned hearing the argument till December 7.

While presenting his argument, advocate Khandakar Mahbub said, ‘Murder-genocide had been committed in 1971’. And he added ‘They (Jamaat leaders) collaborated out of their political point of view’.

He further said, ‘If Nizami had committed the crimes, he could get a relief from the capital punishment in consideration of his age’.

BDST: 1346/1620 HRS, DEC 02, 2015
RS/RR/SMS

** Defence lawyers’ last-day arguments underway