Bangladesh executes Islamist leader for war crimes News
Bangladesh executes Islamist leader for war crimes

Bangladesh authorities on Wednesday executed Motiur Rahman Nizami for war crimes during the the 1971 war of independence. Nizami [Daily Star report], a leader of the banned Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami [JURIST report], was convicted for war crimes including rape and genocide and is the fifth JI leader to be executed. Party leaders claim [Al Jazeera report] that the execution is an attempt to remove the Islamic religion from the region and have called on their followers to strike as a sign of opposition to the hanging. There has been international criticism [Daily Sabah report] the Bangladesh tribunals, even though the country claims they are necessary [NDTV report] for the healing process to continue. The parliament of Pakistan has officially condemned [RADIO report] the hanging of Nizami, stating the execution was against justice and human rights.

Last week the International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICTB) [official website] sentenced [JURIST report] four men to death for crimes against humanity committed during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. The ICTB, established in 2009 under the International Crimes Act [text], is charged with investigating and prosecuting war crimes committed during the 1971 conflict. Rights groups such as Amnesty International [advocacy website] have criticized [JURIST report] death sentences imposed by the ICTB, stating that trials of war criminals have, in the past, “failed to meet international standards.” In March the Supreme Court of Bangladesh upheld [JURIST report] the death sentence of a former opposition politician for allegedly committing war crimes during the 1971 war of independence. In February the ICTB sentenced [JURIST report] two men to death for crimes against humanity committed during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. Last June a Bangladeshi court gave Syed Mohammed Hasan Ali, a fugitive commander of an auxiliary force of Pakistani troops, a death sentence [JURIST report] for torture and massacre in the Liberation War.