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Bangladesh upholds death penalty for opposition leader for 1971 war crimes

Associated Press
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A Bangladeshi activist celebrates after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the execution of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, convicted of war crimes in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, July 29, 2015. Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for the influential opposition leader and an aide to a former prime minister Khaleda Zia for his role in mass killings during the country's independence war against Pakistan in 1971. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad) (The Associated Press)

Son of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, right, speaks to a lawyer in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, July 29, 2015. Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for the influential opposition leader and an aide to a former prime minister Khaleda Zia for his role in mass killings during the country's independence war against Pakistan in 1971. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad) (The Associated Press)

Bangladesh's Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, second right, walks out of the Supreme Court during a review of a petition relating to the case of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party senior leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, convicted of war crimes in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, July 29, 2015. Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for the influential opposition leader and an aide to a former prime minister Khaleda Zia for his role in mass killings during the country's independence war against Pakistan in 1971. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad) (The Associated Press)

Bangladesh's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for an influential opposition leader and an aide to a former prime minister for his role in mass killings during the country's independence war against Pakistan in 1971.

Chief Justice S.K. Sinha delivered the verdict Wednesday against Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, a former aide to ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

The ruling clears the way for the man's execution unless he gets presidential clemency.

Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women during the nine-month war that ended in December 1971. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set up the tribunal in 2010.