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Bangladesh court sentences Islamist leader to death for war crimes Bangladesh court sentences Islamist leader to death for war crimes
(about 7 hours later)
Bangladesh's supreme court has sentenced an Islamist leader to death for war crimes during the country's 1971 war of independence, rejecting an earlier life sentence imposed by a tribunal. Bangladesh's supreme court has sentenced an Islamist leader to death for war crimes, overturning a life sentence imposed by a tribunal and triggering outrage from his lawyers and protests from his supporters.
The tribunal found Abdul Quader Mollah, assistant secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, guilty on 5 February of murder, rape and torture. A war crimes tribunal in February found Abdul Quader Mollah, the assistant secretary general of the outlawed Jamaat-e-Islami party, guilty of murder, rape and torture during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
The life sentence imposed at the time triggered protests by people hoping he would get the death penalty. The life sentence imposed at the time also triggered protests by people hoping he would get the death penalty. In response, parliament amended a law to allow the state to appeal against any verdict or sentence passed by the tribunal.
In response, Bangladesh's parliament amended a law to allow the state to appeal against any decision of the war crimes tribunal that was deemed inadequate. Bangladesh has been hit in recent months by a wave of violent protests over war crimes convictions, presenting the government with a security and credibility challenge in the run-up to elections early next year.
Mollah's party, the Jamaat, opposed Bangladeshi independence from Pakistan in the 1971 war but it denies accusations that some of its leaders committed murder, rape and torture during the conflict. More than 100 people have been killed in protests and counter-protests since January.
More than 100 people have been killed in protests and counter-protests since January, when the tribunal set up by the government delivered its first verdict. Mollah's lawyer Abdur Razzak dismissed Tuesday's sentence as politically motivated and said the defence would file a petition for a review, but the attorney general, Mahbube Alam, said a review was not an option under the constitution.
"This decision over which the accused now has no further right of appeal or review is in clear breach of international law," Mollah's international legal team said in a statement.
"It lends further weight to calls for the war crimes trials to be condemned and replaced by a credible, international criminal tribunal under the auspices of the United Nations."
Several Jamaat leaders and two from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) are still on trial at the tribunal. The New York-based Human Rights Watch group has said the tribunal's procedures fall short of international standards.
Jamaat activists skirmished with police in several towns, including the port of Chittagong, after the death sentence was announced. Five police were wounded in Chittagong when activists set fire to a police car and exploded crude bombs.
The war trials have angered Islamists and the BNP, who call them a politically motivated bid to persecute the leadership of Jamaat. The government has denied the charges.
Paramilitary troops have been deployed in Bogra, where previous war crimes verdicts sparked violent protests by Islamists, police said. The city is a political stronghold of the BNP leader, Begum Khaleda Zia, an arch-rival of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.
Jamaat called for a 48-hour countrywide strike from Wednesday.
In July, a court declared Jamaat-e-Islami illegal, effectively banning it from the election. Six party leaders have been convicted of various crimes in connection with the war.
Mollah's party opposed Bangladeshi independence from Pakistan in the 1971 war but it denies accusations that its leaders committed murder, rape and torture.
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