The Awami League has vehemently condemned the acquittal of notorious al-Badr commander and Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam, who was given the death penalty for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
โThe entire nation stands shocked and outraged as the Appellate Division has acquitted notorious war criminal ATM Azharul Islamโฆ This day will be remembered as a dark and disgraceful chapter in the history of Bangladesh.โ
Terming the decision โheinousโ, the Awami League in a statement said: โThis verdict once again reveals the true face of the ultra-communal and anti-liberation forces that forcibly overthrew the elected government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5 of last year.
โAt the core of this anti-Bangladesh agenda lies Jamaat-e-Islami, the primary political vehicle of pro-Pakistani ideology.โ
The statement said the acquittal is not a legal decision but a political reward.
โIt is the result of the fascist Yunus regimeโs direct interference in the judiciary, used as a tool to rehabilitate and reward Jamaat by overturning a verdict that was built upon years of rigorous legal process, evidence, and testimonies.
โWhat we are witnessing in Bangladesh today is not justiceโit is a travesty masquerading as justice. The judiciary, once a sacred institution for impartiality and truth, is now reduced to a puppet of an illegitimate, authoritarian regime and its mob-driven politics.
โThis circus of justice has enabled a war criminalโone who stood against the very birth of Bangladeshโto walk free. Meanwhile, those who led the fight for independence, including Sheikh Hasina and other national leaders, now face fabricated and farcical trials under this illegitimate regime.
โWe firmly believe that no patriotic citizen who breathes in the air of a free Bangladesh will ever accept such an insult to our Liberation War, nor will they tolerate the rehabilitation of war criminals and pro-Pakistani politics under any disguise.
โThis acquittal is a dangerous attempt to legitimise anti-liberation forces and drag Bangladesh back into the shadows of 1971. But we believeโwith the unyielding spirit of the people and under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh will continue its fight against these treacherous forces and uphold the dreams of our Liberation War.โ
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