Bangladesh tribunal sentences Islamist party leader to death for 1971 war crimes

Published December 05, 2015

A.T.M. Azharul Islam, assistant secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, waves his hand as he enters a police van after a special tribunal sentenced him to death in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014. A special tribunal in Bangladesh has sentenced the senior Islamist party leader to death for leading a militia that committed mass killings and rape during the country's 1971 independence war against Pakistan. He is the eighth convicted leader from Jamaat-e-Islami, which openly campaigned against independence and worked as the core political force in favor of West Pakistan, now Pakistan. (AP Photo/ Suvra Kanti Das) (The Associated Press)

A special tribunal in Bangladesh has sentenced a senior Islamist party leader to death for leading a militia that committed mass killings and rape during the country's 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

Judge M. Enayetur Rahim found A.T.M. Azharul Islam, assistant secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, guilty of five out of six charges Tuesday, including killing unarmed civilians.

Islam was the leader of a militia group in the country's northern region that collaborated with Pakistan's military in confronting fighters who fought for Bangladesh's independence. He is the eighth convicted leader from Jamaat-e-Islami, which openly campaigned against independence and worked as the core political force in favor of West Pakistan, now Pakistan.

Bangladesh blames Pakistani soldiers and local collaborators for the deaths of 3 million people during the nine-month war.

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