War crimes: Five men bag death penalty in Bangladesh

By News desk

A special tribunal in Bangladesh capital Dhaka Tuesday sentenced five men to death for crimes against humanity during the country’s war of independence in 1971.

The International Crimes Tribunal, led by its Chairman Justice Md Shahinur Islam, found the suspects Abdul Jabbar Mondol and his two sons, Jachhijar Rahman and Abdul Wahed Mondol, and Ranju Miah and Montaz Ali Bepari guilty of the charges brought against them.

The charges include killing, abduction, confinement, torture, arson and looting.

One of the convicts Miah was taken to the tribunal for verdict delivery at 10:30 a.m. local time Tuesday as the rest are on the run.

Bangladeshi police chief was asked for immediate steps to arrest the fugitives.

In line with law, the death row convicts have the opportunity to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court within a month of the verdict.

After returning to power in January 2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangladesh’s independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, established the first tribunal in March 2010, almost 40 years after the 1971 war.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh was called East Pakistan until 1971. The government of Hasina said about three million people were killed in the independence war.

Source: Xinhua