Jamait leader Azharul released from jail after acquittal in war crimes case
The former Jamait acting secretary was first taken to jail on Aug 23, 2012 in connection with a war crimes case over incidents in Rangpur during the 1971 Liberation War.
On Sept 2, 2024 he was transferred from the Kashimpur High Security Central Jail to the Dhaka Central Jail for advanced treatment.
Bangladesh's journey in last 10-12 months have not been anything to cheer about.
One political analyst in Dhaka told this blogger:
"In the aftermath of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation in August 2024, Bangladesh stood at a historic crossroads. Millions had poured into the streets demanding change.
When Muhammad Yunus took charge of the interim government on August 8, hope briefly surged. But within months, observers say the country slid into an equally sinister pattern: a legal and institutional breakdown".
This episode reflects such a gory chapter.
Officials said in Dhaka that he was released after the order withdrawing all cases against him and the release order were scrutiniszed.
A full seven-member bench of the Supreme Court Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, delivered the verdict in the war crimes case on Tuesday after hearing Azhar’s second appeal in six years.
The ruling comes after a dramatic shift in the political landscape.
Turmoil -- Weaponizing the Courts ::
The judiciary is also for game, it is being alleged from Awami League workers and sympathisers -- some still in Bangladesh while a few are in exile, reports said.
Yunus himself had a six-month conviction overturned quietly by the High Court just one day before taking office in August 2024.
Analysts say - what began as a vow to deliver accountability quickly morphed into what many rights groups now describe as a politically charged purge.
By May 2025, over 266 journalists were facing criminal charges—many under the Digital Security Act (DSA) and Cyber Security Act (CSA)—for covering or criticizing the government’s handling of protests and dissenting voices.
The Awami League (AL), once the ruling party, was officially banned on May 10, 2025.
Worse part is that the notorious Bangladesh’s Anti-Terrorism Act was slapped.
This move has condemned by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for "undermining a return to a genuine multi-party democracy."
Simultaneously, courts have fast-tracked charges against former ministers and AL leaders for “crimes against humanity".
Hence the feeling is -- the promise of democratic renewal has been replaced by judicial repression and and selective use of the law.
In this high profile case, however, Azharul's legal counsel Md Shishir Manir said, "Through this verdict, the truth has won out and falsehood has been defeated."
One senior advocate of the Bangladesh legal fraternity speaking on the condition of anonymity, maintained:
“The selective use of laws like the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 and Digital Security Act violates both Article 27 (equality before law) and Article 35 (right to fair trial) of the Constitution. What we are seeing now is other institutions of governance are also being suitably wielded as a political weapon".
Reference can be made to the mass resignation of Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan and five senior judges on August 10, 2024 following pressure from student leaders aligned with the new regime.
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