Condemned war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury
will convey his decision on seeking presidential clemency when he meets
his lawyers, his wife Farhat Quader Chowdhury said today.
Farhat
came up with the remark at a press briefing just after BNP standing
committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, at the same programme, said
Chowdhury will not seek presidential mercy.
Meanwhile, Hummam Quader
Chowdhury, younger son of the war criminal, told reporters that his
father earlier told them that he will decide on the issue after talking
with his lawyers.
“So, the family will be able to know about the decision when lawyers meet my father,” Hummam said.
But the lawyers were not allowed to meet Chowdhury, the son claimed.
"How can we say that the two magistrates who went to meet my father at the jail will speak the truth, he questioned.
BNP organised the briefing at the party’s chief’s Gulshan office in Dhaka.
According
to a press release, today’s briefing was supposed to be conducted by
Jamir Uddin Sircar, another standing committee member of the party, but
he did not attend the programme.
Yesterday, the authorities asked
Mojaheed and Salauddin whether the two would seek the mercy, the last
option for them to avoid gallows. Both of them said they would inform
the prison officials about their decision later.
On Thursday, the
Supreme Court released its full verdicts that dismissed their petitions
to review their death sentences originally handed down by two war crimes
tribunals in 2013.
Later, jail officials read out the SC verdicts to the war crimes convicts.
