Riots erupt as Bangladeshi Islamist sentenced to life
Abdul Quader Molla, 64, assistant secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was sentenced to life in prison by the controversial International Crimes Tribunal on Tuesday.
Riots broke out in several Bangladesh cities on Tuesday after a court sentenced a senior Islamist opposition official to life in prison for mass murder during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
Abdul Quader Molla, 64, the fourth-highest leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was the first politician to be found guilty by the International Crimes Tribunal, a much-criticised domestic court based in Dhaka.
Molla cried “Allahu Akbar!” (God is greater) and said the charges, which also include crimes against humanity, were false after presiding judge Obaidul Hassan delivered the verdict in a crowded and tightly guarded court.
He deserved the death sentence because of the gravity of the crimes. But the court gave him life imprisonment
“He deserved the death sentence because of the gravity of the crimes. But the court gave him life imprisonment,” said Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, adding Molla was found guilty of five out of six charges including mass murder.
The judgement sparked immediate protests by Jamaat, the country’s largest Islamic party which enforced a nationwide strike in anticipation of the conviction.
It warned it would resist “at any cost a government blueprint” to execute its leaders.
Police said they had clashed with protesters in the capital Dhaka and in several other cities across the country in the aftermath of the verdict.