ATM Azharul Islam, a senior leader of Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islami, has been acquitted of war crimes charges related to the 1971 Liberation War. Previously sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal in 2014, Islam was accused of committing atrocities, including genocide and murder, in Rangpur during the war.
The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, citing insufficient evidence to uphold the earlier verdict. The decision has sparked mixed reactions across the country. Supporters of Jamaat welcomed the ruling, calling it long-overdue justice, while victims’ families and rights groups expressed shock and disappointment.
Islam was one of several top Jamaat leaders prosecuted for alleged war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s fight for independence from Pakistan. His acquittal marks a significant legal and political development in the nation’s ongoing reckoning with its wartime past.
Government officials have yet to comment on whether they will seek a review of the verdict.
