Appellate division chamber court has fixed Sunday to hold hearing on a petition seeking review of the Supreme Court verdict that upheld the death sentence given to Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman by the International Crimes Tribunal-2.

Appellate division chamber judge Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order on Thursday.

Attorney General Mahbube Alam stood for the state side while advocate Muhammad Shishir Monir was present on behalf of the defendant.

Earlier Mahbube Alam said the execution of Kamaruzzaman’s death warrant, issued by the trial court on February 19, stood inoperative since the review plea had been filed.

On 9 May 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 condemned Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general M Kamaruzzaman, a 1971 operator of infamous Al Badr vigilante outfit, to death for his crimes against humanity, including murder, abduction, torture, rape and mass killing during the Liberation War.

On 3 November last year, the Supreme Court upheld tribunal’s the death sentence.

Advocate Shishir Mohammad Manir, counsel for Kamaruzzaman, filed the petition with the department concerned of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday morning. The Jamaat leader sought acquittal from the charges of crimes against humanity citing 44 grounds.

On Wednesday five defence lawyers, led by Tajul Islam, met Kamaruzzaman at Dhaka Central Jail. Tajul, Shishir Mohammad Manir, Ehsan A Siddique, Nozibur Rahman and Matiur Rahman Akand met Kamaruzzaman at the jail and talked with him for about 30 minutes.

Earlier on 21 February, Tajul and his four colleagues met the Jamaat leader in jail. On February 28, Kamaruzzaman’s family met him.

The ICT-2 on 19 February issued a warrant to execute death sentence of Kamaruzzaman, a day after the release of the full text of his appeal judgment.