Dhaka:  Death row convict Jamaat leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman will get seven days for seeking mercy to the president, said attorney general Mahbube Alam.

Earlier on Monday morning, the appellate division of the Supreme Court dismissed review petition of Kamaruzzaman and upheld the death penalty.

Mahbube Alam said Kamaruzzaman will get seven days from 6 April for seeking clemency to the president. The verdict will be executed anytime if Kamaruzzaman does not submit mercy petition by the time. If the defendant appeals for mercy then the tribunal will wait for the decision taken by the president, said the attorney general.

Kamaruzzaman’s family will get the chance to meet him if the President rejects his mercy petition, said Mahbube Alam.

Muhammad Kamaruzzaman has not yet decided on seeking mercy from the President, said Kamaruzzaman’s lawyer Shishir Monir. 

The Appellate Division Bench fixed 5 April for the review hearing after Kamaruzzaman’s counsels sought an adjournment of the hearing on his review petitions for four weeks, on 1 April.

Kamaruzzaman filed the petition on 5 March seeking to review the death penalty.

On 9 May 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal 2 condemned Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general M Kamaruzzaman to death for his crimes against humanity, including murder, abduction, torture, rape and mass killing during the War of Independence.

On 3 November 2014, the Appellate Division upheld the tribunal’s death sentence by a short order and released its full text of the judgment on 18 February and according to the prescribed rules the review petition was filed. As a result, the execution of Kamaruzzman’s death sentence issued by the trial court remains inoperative.