Senior Jamaat leader sentenced to death in Bangladesh
A special tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced a senior Islamist party leader to death Tuesday after convicting him of leading a militia that committed mass killings 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 on five out of six charges, including killing unarmed civilians.
Islam was the leader of Al-Badra, 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.
Islam’s lawyers said they would appeal the verdict. His party called for a day-long general strike across the country on Wednesday to denounce the verdict.
Comments