The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has set Aug 17 for a hearing on whether the appeal of Abul Kalam Azad, who was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal for war crimes in 1971, will proceed.

A four-member appellate bench headed by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury made the decision on Monday, reports bdnews24.com.

The other three members of the bench are Justice Md Rezaul Haque, Justice SM Emdadul Hoque and Justice Farah Mahbub.

Azad has got the opportunity to appeal his sentence 13 years after the stipulated period.

According to the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act, there is an opportunity to appeal against the verdict of the tribunal within 30 days. However, Azad was absconding abroad when the verdict was announced on Jan 21, 2013.

That was the first verdict by the tribunal after the trial of crimes against humanity in 1971 began during the previous Awami League government.

The verdict found that seven out of eight charges against former Jamaat-e-Islami leader Azad, including murder, rape, kidnapping, detention, arson and looting during the Liberation War, were proven. The International Crimes Tribunal-2 then sentenced him to death.

After the fall of the Awami League government in the 2024 July Uprising, news of Azad's return to the country via Pakistan in March 2025 was published in the media. He then applied to the Ministry of Home Affairs under Section 401 of the Criminal Procedure Code to suspend his sentence.

In view of that application, the then interim government suspended his sentence on Oct 22, 2025. However, it was stipulated that he would have to surrender to the court and file an appeal.

Then, on Jan 21 of this year, Azad surrendered to the tribunal and applied for a certified copy of the verdict and other documents to prepare an appeal. He later filed that appeal.