ATM Azharul Islam is a Bangladeshi politician from the

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is the largest Islamist political party in Bangladesh. The origin of the party can be traced back to the original faction founded by Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi in 1941. The predecessor of Jamaat which is known as Ja ...

. He contested the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

elections for the

Rangpur-2 Rangpur-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh. Since 6 August 2024 the constituency is vacant. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Badarganj and Taraganj upazilas. History The constit ...

constituency in the

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

but did not win. He had served as the party's Secretary General until 2012, when he was arrested and charged with

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

by the country's International Crimes Tribunal. He was convicted by the ICT in 2014. His appeal was rejected by the Appellate Division of Supreme Court in 2019 but he was acquitted after a review by the Division in 2025.

Early life

Islam was born in Lohanipara village in

Badarganj Upazila Badarganj () is an Upazila of Rangpur District in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. Badarganj is named after the mystic-saint Hazrat Badaruddin Shah. His tomb is situated in the middle of the town. After the conquests of Bengal, Turki Commander Ikhtiy ...

Rangpur District Rangpur District () is a district in northern Bengal, It is a part of Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. Geography Under the Rangpur Division (one of eight divisions) composed of eight districts of northern Bangladesh, the District of Rangpur is bo ...

Political career

Islam contested the

June 1996 Bangladeshi general election Snap general elections were held in Bangladesh on 12 June 1996. They were called following the controversial February 1996 elections, which were boycotted by the opposition and saw a turnout of just 21%. The result of the snap elections was a v ...

as a candidate of

Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...

from

. He received 8,273, the third highest share while the winning candidate

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi military officer, dictator and politician who served as President of Bangladesh, the president of Bangladesh from 1982 to 1990. He seized power as a result of a 1982 ...

of the Jatiya Party received 66,929 votes. Islam was the candidate of Jamaat-e-Islami for Rangpur-2 in the

2001 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 1 October 2001. The 300 seats of the Jatiya Sangsad were contested by 1,935 candidates representing 54 parties and 484 independents. The elections were the second to be held under the caretaker govern ...

. He came third with 17,788 votes while the winning candidate, Mohammad Ali Sarkar of the Islami Jatiya Oikya Front, 91,921 votes. Islam contested elections from

constituency ( Badarganj and Taraganj) in the

2008 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 29 December 2008. The two main parties in the election were the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Khaleda Zia, and the Bangladesh Awami League Party, led by Sheikh Hasina. The Bangladesh Awam ...

. He came second with 36,586 votes while the winning candidate,

Anisul Islam Mondal Anisul Islam Mondal (born 25 August 1966) is a Jatiya Party (Ershad) politician and a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Rangpur-2 Rangpur-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh. Sin ...

of the Jatiya Party received 166,271 votes. In 2010, following the arrest of leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, Azharul Islam stated:

We are observing the situation. The legal battle to free our leaders will continue along with a peaceful movement.

Some leaders described the arrests as a moment of crisis for the party. In January 2011, He announced Jamaat-e-Islami was fielding 39 mayoral candidates who will contest elections against the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. In February, as Acting Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami, Islam announced a series of strikes protesting against policies of the Awami League-led regime. In June 2011, Islam called a joint 3 hour strike with Acting Secretary General

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir (born 26 January 1948) is a Bangladeshi politician. He has been the secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since 2016. He was a member of the Jatiya Sangsad, parliament for Thakurgaon-1 constituen ...

protesting a recommendation by the parliamentary special committee on constitutional amendment to remove the neutral caretaker government system. He was one of the accused individuals in a sedition case filed over comments on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Home Minister by Rezaul Karim, former president of

Islami Chhatra Shibir Bangladesh Islami Chhatrashibir, commonly known as Chhatrashibir or Shibir, is an Islamic student organisation in Bangladesh. It was established in 1977 as the successor to the East Pakistani faction of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba colloquially known ...

. He protested against comments by

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

, ''the then'' prime minister of India, who accused Jamaat-e-Islami of being anti-Indian and accused Jamaat of being a partner of ISI. He was detained on 20 September 2011 after violent protests by Jamaat-e-Islami activists over not being allowed to hold a rally demanding the release of its leaders. The protests left 200 people injured, 28 cars burned down, 200 cars were vandalized along with roadside shops, and traffic was disrupted throughout Dhaka. The police filed a case against party activists, including Ameer Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman, for assaulting police officers during the protest.

War crimes trial

Islam is accused of being a commander of Al-Badr's Rangpur branch during the 1971

. Al-Badr was a militia that collaborated with Pakistani forces during the

Bangladesh genocide The Bangladesh genocide was the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis residing in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the Bangladesh Liberation War, perpetrated by the Pakistan Army and the Razakar (Pakistan), Razakars. It began on 25 March 1971, as ...

. On August 22, 2012, Islam was arrested in

Maghbazar Maghbazar () or Mogbazar is a neighbourhood in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is located near the neighbourhoods of Tejgaon, Segunbagicha, Ramna and Malibagh, under the jurisdiction of Ramna and Hatirjheel thanas. Its origins date back to the Mughal Em ...

. The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) filed five charges of

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

, including accusations of genocide, murder, and abduction. He was serving as the assistant general secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami. His prosecutor at the trial was

Nurjahan Begum Mukta Nurjahan Begum Mukta (born 1 December 1965) is a Bangladeshi lawyer and a politician representing the Bangladesh Awami League party. She was a member of the Jatiya Sangsad. Career Mukta was born on 1 December 1965 at the village Saisila in Hajig ...

. His defence team was composed of senior counsel Abdur Razzaq, Mohammad Shishir Manir, and Imran Siddique. He was accused of being involved in the Jharuarbeel massacre in which more than 1,200 Hindus were murdered, a pregnant woman was raped at Rangpur Town Hall and a

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

member and his brother were tortured. A women testified that he was involved in the rape of a pregnant woman for 19 days at Rangpur Town Hall during the war. In December 2014, he was convicted for

and sentenced to death by the ICT for his involvement in war crimes during the Bangladesh War in 1971. He was acquitted of the charges of murder of 10 people in Rangpur but was convicted of rape at the Rangpur Town Hall and torturing the Mukti Bahini member and his brother at an Al-Badr camp. The three-member tribunal was led by Justice

M Enayetur Rahim M Enayetur Rahim is a retired justice on the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court. Earlier, he was justice of the High Court Division, Bangladesh Supreme Court. He also served as the chairman of the International Crimes Tribunal 1. He i ...

and included Justice

Jahangir Hossain Jahangir Hossain a retired judge of the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court. Early life Jahangir Hossain was born on 31 December 1959 in Kabilpur, Senbag,Noakhali District, East Pakistan, Pakistan. Hossain finished his LL.B and Mast ...

and Justice Anwarul Haque. His reaction after the verdict was, "''... Allah will try you,

Insha'Allah ''Inshallah'', usually called the , is an Arabic-language expression meaning or . It is mentioned in the Quran, which requires its use when mentioning future events. It signifies that nothing, neither action nor thought, happens without God' ...

''". Jamaat-e-Islami called for a two-day strike (

hartal Hartal () is a term in many Languages of India, Indian languages for a strike action that was first used during the Indian independence movement (also known as the nationalist movement) of the early 20th century. A hartal is a mass protest, often ...

) following the verdict. Islam's defense argued that the charges were politically motivated, but his appeals were rejected by the

Supreme Court of Bangladesh Supreme Court of Bangladesh () is the highest court of law in the country. It is composed of the High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, High Court Division and the Appellate Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division, ...

in 2019. The Appellate Division bench was led by Chief Justice

Syed Mahmud Hossain Syed Mahmud Hossain (born 31 December 1954) was a Bangladeshi lawyer and judge who served as the 22nd Chief Justice of Bangladesh. He retired from the post of Chief Justice on 30 December 2021. Early life and education Hossain was born in 1954 ...

. Islam's principal lawyer at the appeal was

Khandaker Mahbub Hossain Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain (20 March 1938 – 31 December 2022) was a Bangladeshi lawyer and politician. In 1973, he was the chief prosecutor of the court set up to try war criminals under 'Dalal' Act. Served as Bangladesh Supreme Court ...

, a politician of the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

raised concerns about the fairness of his trial, citing irregularities in the proceedings. Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

regime, Jamaat-e-Islami's ameer,

Shafiqur Rahman Shafiqur Rahman (; born 31 October 1958) is a Bangladeshi politician who is the current Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. Early life Rahman was born on 31 October 1958 in Bhatera Union under Kulaura Upazila of Moulvibazar District. His ...

, demanded that for the release of Islam and for the restitution of the party's registration. Jamaat staged protests in

Gazipur District Gazipur District () is a district in central Bangladesh, that is part of the Dhaka Division. It has an area of 1806.36 km2. It is the home district of Tajuddin Ahmad, the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh and has been a prominent centre o ...

demanding his release. On 27 May 2025, he was acquitted by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. On 28 May 2025, he was released from jail. The court reviewed and found that the evidence on which the verdict in his case was based was unrealistic and fabricated and accusations of rape and murder lacked reliable proof, he was released in May 2025 after being proven as innocent.

References

{{Reflist Living people 1952 births Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami politicians People from Rangpur District Politicians from Rangpur Division People acquitted of murder People acquitted of rape People acquitted of kidnapping People acquitted of international crimes People of the Bangladesh Liberation War Politicians from East Pakistan Bangladeshi Islamists Right-wing politics in Bangladesh 1971 Bangladesh genocide