{{A Bangladeshi tribunal sentenced a leader of the country’s main Islamic party to life in jail Tuesday for his role during the independence war against Pakistan in 1971.}}<\/p>\n
The tribunal pronounced the verdict Tuesday against Abdul Quader Mollah in a packed courtroom at the High Court in Dhaka.<\/p>\n
His Jamaat-e-Islami party had already ordered a general strike that shut down schools and shops and halted most traffic in Dhaka.<\/p>\n
Jamaat supporters exploded homemade bombs and clashed with police in parts of the capital, leaving several people injured, ATN News said.<\/p>\n
Mollah and five other leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party have been on trial before Dhaka’s International Crimes Tribunal. <\/p>\n
They have been accused of committing atrocities during the nine-month war against Pakistan more than 40 years ago. A former party member was sentenced to death last month.<\/p>\n
The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010 initiated the process of trying those accused of committing crimes against humanity during the war, under an amended 1973 law.<\/p>\n
Jamaat-e-Islami \u2014 a key partner in a former Bangladeshi government \u2014 says the charges are politically motivated. Authorities deny the claim.<\/p>\n
Jamaat campaigned against Bangladesh’s independence war and stands accused of forming several groups to help the Pakistani troops in killing, rape and arson. <\/p>\n
Until it gained independence in 1971, Bangladesh was the eastern wing of Pakistan, and Bangladesh says Pakistani troops aided by local collaborators killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women.<\/p>\n
Mollah was tried on six counts, including playing a role in the killing of 381 unarmed civilians, the prosecution says. He denied the charges.<\/p>\n
Last month, the tribunal sentenced former party member Abul Kalam Azad to death in the first war-crimes trial verdict.<\/p>\n
International human rights groups have raised questions about the conduct of the tribunals, including the disappearance of a defense witness outside the courthouse gates.<\/p>\n
Jamaat-e-Islami was a key partner in the former government of Khaleda Zia, a longtime political rival of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.<\/p>\n
Zia has called the tribunal a farce, while Hasina has urged Zia to stop backing those she says fought against independence.<\/p>\n
wirestory<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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