bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

A Bangladesh court on Wednesday sentenced a senior leader of the country’s largest Islamic party to death for crimes committed during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, 65, was found guilty of five charges, including abduction and murder, and was sentenced to death by the much-criticised International Crimes Tribunal.
“In three out of five charges he was given the death sentence,” the country’s junior attorney general and prosecutor MK Rahman said.
Justice Obaidul Hassan ordered Mujahid be “hanged by the neck” after the panel of three judges read out the verdict to the packed courtroom in the capital Dhaka, amid tight security.
Mujahid is currently the second highest-ranked member of the Jamaat-e-Islami party and also an influential leader in the 18-party opposition alliance.
The verdict is the second this week by the tribunal after Jamaat’s 90-year-old spiritual leader Ghulam Azam was convicted on Monday and sentenced to 90 years in prison for masterminding atrocities during the war.
That verdict prompted a nationwide strike by Jamaat supporters who took to the streets, sparking violent clashes with police that killed five people.
The trials have divided the country, with secularists demanding the execution of all the accused and Islamists branding the trials a sham, aimed at eliminating their leaders.


Bangladesh Islamist leader gets death penalty for war crimes 

Secretary General of Jamaat e Islam, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid (left) waves from a police vehicle as he is transported to the central jail following his court verdict in Dhaka on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

People try to extinguish a fire set by activists of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party in Naraynganj after the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Ghulam Azam, former Jamaat chief, to 90 years in prison. Photo: Reuters

Conviction of Islamist leader sparks more riots in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi activists march during a nationwide strike after Islamist leader Ghulam Azam was convicted for war crimes.Photo: AFP

Uproar as top Bangladesh Islamist jailed for 90 years for war crimes 

Bangladesh's Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami former chief Ghulam Azam is escorted by security officers to a court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Monday. Photo: AP

Former Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ghulam Azam (centre) is escorted by security people as he is taken to the court for the verdict in Dhaka, Bnagladesh, on Monday. Photo: EPA

A special Bangladesh court on Saturday, found Ghulam Azam (centre), former head of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party, guilty of masterminding atrocities during the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan. Photo: AFP

News

Asia