Obaidul Quader, Bahauddin Nasim and Five Others Sentenced to Death for Crimes Against Humanity

The other six sentenced to death are Awami League Joint General Secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim; former State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat; Jubo League Chairman Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash and General Secretary Mainul Hossain Khan Nikhil; and Chhatra League President Saddam Hossain and General Secretary Wali Asif Inan. All seven remain at large.

The verdict was delivered on Tuesday afternoon (September 15) by a three-member panel of International Crimes Tribunal-2, led by its chairman, Justice Nazrul Islam Chowdhury. The other panel members were Judge Md Manjurul Basid and Judge Noor Mohammad Shahriar Kabir.

The tribunal had set Tuesday as the date for the verdict a day earlier. The case was reserved for judgment after both sides completed their closing arguments on August 17.

The prosecution concluded its arguments on August 12 and sought the maximum punishment for the accused. State-appointed defence lawyers M Hasan Imam and Ishrat Jahan later presented arguments on behalf of the seven fugitives.

The tribunal accepted the formal charges against the accused on December 18 last year and issued arrest warrants for all seven. Charges were framed on January 22, and the trial began on February 17 with the prosecution’s opening statement.

The tribunal heard testimony from 29 witnesses, including the late Sharif Osman Hadi and the investigating officer. The prosecution began presenting its closing arguments on August 4 after the testimony phase ended.