War crimes: Shamsul Haque's sentence reduced to 10 years in jail

The top court has reduced the jail until death sentence for Jamalpur war criminal Shamsul Haque to 10 years in jail. Haque was convicted in 2016 for crimes against humanity, including mass murder.

The Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan announced the verdict on Tuesday, scrapping the defendant's plea for an acquittal.

State counsels Attorney General Amin Uddin and Deputy Attorney General M Saiful Alam were present at the hearing. Advocate Ehsan A Siddique and Advocate Syed MD Raihan Uddin represented the defence.

Earlier, the Appellate Division delayed the verdict for Shamsul Haque's appeal from Nov 7 to Nov 14.

The International Crimes Tribunal indicted eight alleged war criminals in Jamalpur, including Shamsul Haque, on Oct 26, 2015. The tribunal delivered the verdict on Jul 18, 2016.

Three convicts were sentenced to death, while five others were jailed until death. They were convicted of murder, genocide, abduction, torture, looting and hiding bodies.

Ashraf Hossain, Abdul Mannan, and Abdul Bari received the death sentences. Former Islamic Bank director Sharif Ahmed aka Sharif Hossain, Harun, Abul Hashem, MD Shamsul Haque, and SM Yusuf Ali received prison until death.

Only Shamsul and Yusuf were in prison during the trial. The six other suspects were absconding. Yusuf and Shamsul appealed against the verdict, but Yusuf died before the appeal was settled.

The hearings in Shamsul Haque’s appeal began on Jul 12 and, on Oct 18 the Appellate Division set a date for the verdict.

The capital punishment of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Abdul Kader Molla, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Muhammed Kamruzzaman, Moulana Motiur Rahman Nizami and BNP leader Salahuddin Kader Chowdhury have already been carried out after their convictions for 1971 war crimes.