Bangladesh MP faces death for war crimes
Chowdhury was guilty of nine charges including murder and religious persecution.
Bangladesh finds man guilty of genocide during 1971 war. PHOTO: FILE
DHAKA:
A Bangladesh court on Tuesday sentenced to death its first lawmaker for alleged war crimes in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
Convicted Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, 64, is a leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. International Crimes Tribunal has declared that Chowdhury was guilty of nine charges including murder and religious persecution.
He would be “hanged by the neck”, presiding judge Fazle Kabir told a packed court in the capital Dhaka.
After the sentence was read out, a defiant Chowdhury accused the government of influencing the judge’s decision.
“This judgment came from the (law) ministry. The copy of the verdict has been available on the internet since yesterday,” he said.
The ruling is likely to trigger fresh unrest in the already tense country.
“We are happy with the verdict,” Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told AFP.
Since January, the much-criticised International Crimes Tribunal has convicted seven people of crimes related to the nine-month war with the Pakistani forces.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 2nd, 2013.
A Bangladesh court on Tuesday sentenced to death its first lawmaker for alleged war crimes in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
Convicted Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, 64, is a leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party. International Crimes Tribunal has declared that Chowdhury was guilty of nine charges including murder and religious persecution.
He would be “hanged by the neck”, presiding judge Fazle Kabir told a packed court in the capital Dhaka.
After the sentence was read out, a defiant Chowdhury accused the government of influencing the judge’s decision.
“This judgment came from the (law) ministry. The copy of the verdict has been available on the internet since yesterday,” he said.
The ruling is likely to trigger fresh unrest in the already tense country.
“We are happy with the verdict,” Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told AFP.
Since January, the much-criticised International Crimes Tribunal has convicted seven people of crimes related to the nine-month war with the Pakistani forces.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 2nd, 2013.