Top Jamaat leader found guilty of Bangladesh war crimes
DHAKA: A Bangladeshi court on Monday found a top Jamaat-e-Islaami (JI) leader guilty of masterminding atrocities during the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan and sentenced him to life imprisonment, as violence broke out across the country between police and his supporters.
The decision angered both supporters who said the trial was politically motivated and opponents who said he should be executed.
The panel said the former leader of the Jamaat-e-Islaami party deserved capital punishment, but received a jail sentence instead because of his advanced age and poor health.
Azam was in the dock when the verdict was delivered while protesters outside rallied to demand his execution.
Both the defense and the prosecution said they will appeal.
Azam led Jamaat-e-Islaami in then-east Pakistan in 1971 when Bangladesh became independent through a bloody war.
He is among several Jamaat leaders convicted by a tribunal formed in 2010 by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to try those accused of collaborating with the Pakistani army in the war.
Jamaat-e-Islami claims his trial and others were politically motivated, which authorities deny.
The party called for a nationwide shutdown after the tribunal announced Sunday it would have the verdict Monday. Protests stemming from previous verdicts have sometimes turned deadly.
On Monday, police clashed with party supporters in parts of Dhaka while party activists set fire to a few vehicles that tried to defy the strike call, the Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper reported.
Similar violence was also reported in some other parts of the country, several TV stations said.
Azam had openly campaigned against the creation of Bangladesh and toured the Middle East to get support in favor of Pakistan.
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Sheikh Hasina has become a prisoner of past and refusing to move forward. I am not sure what exactly she wants to dig out of this sad story of history. JI supporters will not take it lightly and Bangladesh will surely see more blood spilling on its roads.
I am also expecting Pakistani chapter of the JI to come strong on this development and stage protests against this judgement.
