The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court will deliver its verdict on April 30 over the government’s appeal against the High Court order that acquitted six former army officers in the jail killing case. After concluding a 10-day hearing session involving both sides, a six-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain on April 18 fixed April 30 for delivering its verdict over the government plea.
In October 2004, the metropolitan sessions judge’s court had originally sentenced to death three fugitive former military personnel and awarded life imprisonment to 12 others for the November 3, 1975 jail massacre, and acquitted four politicians and another former military officer.
The High Court, in August 2008, upheld only the death penalty of fugitive Risaldar Muslemuddin and life imprisonment of seven others; it acquitted two others who were earlier handed capital punishment for the gruesome 1975 jail massacre.
The High Court also acquitted four others sentenced to life imprisonment earlier by the trial court in 2004, while most of them were tried in absentia as they were absconding.
Several of the jail killing suspects, however, were convicted and executed in the Bangabandhu Murder trial.
-With The Independent input
