6 handed death sentences for Bangladesh war crimes

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – A court in Bangladesh on Thursday sentenced six men to death for committing crimes against humanity during the country’s independence war in 1971.

Five of the convicts were present for the sentencing in the capital Dhaka, while one is absconding.

A seventh accused has died since the case was launched in November 2015.

A three-member International Crimes Tribunal convicted the defendants on charges of committing murders and engaging in looting, kidnapping and arson in the southwestern city of Khulna in 1971.

All six were said to be supporters of the now-defunct Convention Muslim League and opposition Jamaat-e-Islami during a bloody months-long war that led to Bangladesh gaining independence from Pakistan in 1971.

The tribunal, set up in 2009, has been criticized by international rights groups for not following fair trial standards.

Abdus Sattar Palwan, the convicts’ lawyer, told reporters that his clients “did not get justice” and will challenge the verdict in a higher court.