Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first fugitive sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, has surrendered and appeared before the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).
Prosecutor Gazi MH Tamim told journalists that Azad appeared at the tribunal on Wednesday morning (21 January).
Last year, Azad applied to the Ministry of Home Affairs to stay his sentence under Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
On 21 January 2013, Justice Obaidul Hasan, Chairman of International Crimes Tribunal-2, had sentenced him to death. The tribunal had stayed the order for one year on the condition that he surrender to the court and file an appeal.
Azad faced a total of eight charges of crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War. He was convicted in seven of them and sentenced to death for three. The tribunal did not impose separate sentences for the remaining four charges, as the death penalty had already been pronounced. One charge was dismissed due to lack of evidence.
During the war, Azad was found guilty of killing 14 people, raping three women, abducting nine individuals, detaining ten people, committing arson in five houses, and looting property from 15 homes.
This verdict marked the first judgment in any case related to crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War. Azad had previously evaded arrest, reportedly fleeing first to India and then to Pakistan, before an arrest warrant could be executed.
The trial concluded on 26 December 2012, after arguments from both sides were presented, with the tribunal reserving its verdict. The proceedings of Abul Kalam Azad at International Crimes Tribunal-2 specifically addressed his crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.