JI leader sentenced to death for war crimes

A T M Azharul Islam becomes 16th person, 11th JI leader to be convicted of atrocities by International Crimes Tribunal

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s war crimes court on Tuesday sentenced a Jamaat e Islami (JI) leader to death for rape, mass murder and genocide during the 1971 war.

A T M Azharul Islam became the 16th person and the 11th JI leader to be convicted of atrocities by the International Crimes Tribunal, which found him guilty of being a key member of a notorious militia. The 62-year-old is the assistant secretary general of the Jamaat e Islami.

“I am innocent!” he shouted as the presiding judge Enayetur Rahim ordered him to be “hanged by the neck” for the genocide of more than 1,200 people in a flood plain in the northern district of Rangpur.

Those killed included hundreds of Hindus -- in one of the worst episodes of the nine-month war.

The conflict ended with the former East Pakistan seceding from the regime in Islamabad, with the help of Indian troops, and becoming Bangladesh.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2014.