Bangladesh sentences Islamist leader to death

DHAKA, Dec. 30  (NsNewsWire) — Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party’s Assistant Secretary General ATM Azharul has been sentenced to death for committing war crimes including mass killings.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-1  pronounced the verdict Tuesday afternoon on a crime against humanity case, awarding death sentence to Islam, now behind the bar.
He was indicted in November last year with 6 charges of crimes against humanity, including torturing, mass killings, and rape.
Islam was, however, acquitted of one of the six charges.
After the verdict, International Crimes Tribunal prosecutor Zead Al Malum told reporters that the prosecution was satisfied with the verdict.
But Tajul Islam, a defence counsel of former minister, expressed his unhappiness with the verdict said he will move the apex court against the verdict.
The verdict came about a week after Bangladesh’s war crimes tribunal sentenced former Minister Syed Mohammed Kaiser to death for war crimes. Apart from Kaiser and Islam, a number of leaders of ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat is also facing war criems trials.
Bangladesh on Dec. 12 last year executed Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla, convicted of war crimes in 1971.