Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Thursday acquitted Khan Akram Hossain, a war crime convict from Bagerhat district, overturning his life sentence in a crimes against humanity case linked to the country’s 1971 Liberation War, local media reported.
A bench led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury passed the verdict after hearing Akram’s appeal challenging the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) judgment delivered on August 11, 2015.
Akram was one of the three alleged members of the Razakar force – a pro-Pakistani paramilitary group formed in 1971 in Bagerhat — who faced trial before the ICT. The other two accused were Sheikh Sirajul Haque, also known as Siraj Master, and Abdul Latif Talukder, Bangladeshi media outlet bdnews24 reported.
In August 2015, the ICT had sentenced Akram to life imprisonment, while co-suspect Razakar leader Sheikh Sirajul Haque, also known as “Siraj Master”, was given the death penalty for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
Akram was reportedly found guilty of detaining and torturing freedom fighter Fazlur Rahman Sikder in Morrelganj Upazila in Bagerhat, resulting in his death.
Another suspect, Abdul Latif Talukdar, a member of the Razakar, was also indicted, alongside the two, but died of age-related illnesses during the trial and was subsequently removed from the case.
Following his conviction, Akram filed an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court challenging the life sentence.
The latest development is another instance when a 1971 war crime convict has been acquitted through a review petition since the fall of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government in August 2024 in a violent mass uprising.
Earlier in May 2025, Bangladesh’s Supreme Court acquitted Jamaat-e-Islami’s radical leader, ATM Azharul Islam, after overturning his death sentence given by the ICT. He was subsequently released after spending nearly 13 years in jail for war crimes.
Azharul Islam was slapped with charges of crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War.
The chargesheet stated that the radical Islamist party leader was responsible for killing 1256 people, abducting 17, and raping 13 women during the Liberation War in the Rangpur region, local media reported.
Jamaat leader Azharul Islam was also elected as a member of Parliament from Rangpur-2 constituency in the February 12 elections.
Experts have repeatedly warned that acquittal of 1971 war crime convicts by Bangladesh courts may set a dangerous precedent of leniency towards pro-Pakistani forces, while undermining the principles of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the nation’s hard-won independence.
(IANS)
