Family meets war criminal Mir Quasem

He also said that the family members went out from the jail after meeting with Quasem at 3:40pm.

Ayesha Khatun told the reporters at the jail gate that neither Mir Quasem nor his family will now decide on mercy petition.

“Mir Quasem told her that plain-clothed men had picked up their son Barrister Ahmed Bin Quasem from their residence 22 days back. He was also a lawyer of Mir Quasem. They need him as a family member to take decision on any familial matter,” she continued.

“We urge the government through the media to get our son back.”

Meanwhile, IG Prison Brigadier General Syed Iftekhar Uddin told the reporters in Dhaka that the meeting between Quasem and his family is a regular affair.

“No decision is yet to taken in which jail death row war convict Mir Quasem Ali will be hanged,” he also said.

Earlier in the morning, the full verdict of the apex court against war criminal Mir Quasem Ali, central executive committee member of Jamaat-e-Islami, was read out to him in the jail, Gazipur.

Jail Super Prashant Kumar Banik said: “The verdict has been read out to him. He has sought time to decide on whether he would seek presidential clemency.

“We will inform the higher authorities about the matter.”

On Tuesday, a five-member Appellate Division panel in its short judgement dismissed the review plea of 64-year-old death row convict, leaving him with one option to plead for presidential clemency as his last ditch effort to save his neck.

The full text of its Supreme Court’s verdict reconfirming the death penalty of the Al-Badr commander was released on the same day.

A top Jamaat-e-Islami leader and financier, Quasem filed the review petition after the apex court published its full verdict and the International Crimes Tribunal issued the death warrant against him on June 6.

The war crimes tribunal sentenced Quasem to death on November 3, 2014 on two charges including killing seven people after abduction in Chittagong. He was also awarded a total of 72-year imprisonment on eight other proven charges of abduction, conspiracy and planning.

A key player behind the formation of notorious al-Badr force in Chittagong during the Liberation War, Quasem had set up makeshift torture camps at different places in the port city including Daleem Hotel in Andorkilla area.

He was known as “Bangali Khan” (Khan referred to as Pakistani occupation forces) for his atrocities.

According to the government, Quasem has also spent a large amount of money to appoint US-based lobbyists to make the war crimes trials controversial.