This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-29813571
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Bangladesh Islamist leader Motiur Rahman Nizami sentenced to death | Bangladesh Islamist leader Motiur Rahman Nizami sentenced to death |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The head of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party has been sentenced to death for war crimes committed during the independence war against Pakistan in 1971. | The head of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party has been sentenced to death for war crimes committed during the independence war against Pakistan in 1971. |
| Motiur Rahman Nizami, 71, faced 16 charges including genocide, murder, torture and rape. | Motiur Rahman Nizami, 71, faced 16 charges including genocide, murder, torture and rape. |
| A state prosecutor said the sentence reflected the "gravity of the crimes". | A state prosecutor said the sentence reflected the "gravity of the crimes". |
| There are different estimates for the number of people killed in the nine-month Bangladeshi war of secession. | There are different estimates for the number of people killed in the nine-month Bangladeshi war of secession. |
| Government figures suggest as many as three million people died, while some say that figure is too high and unverifiable. | Government figures suggest as many as three million people died, while some say that figure is too high and unverifiable. |
| A war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh with a three-judge panel announced the verdict to a packed courtroom in Dhaka. | |
| Nizami, who was head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was accused of acting as supreme commander of a militia, al-Badr, an auxiliary force which helped the Pakistani army identify and kill pro-independence activists in Bangladesh. | |
| The prosecution said the group carried out systematic torture and executions during the war, including of teachers, engineers and journalists. | |
| "Considering the gravity of the crimes, the tribunal punished him with the death sentence," state prosecutor Mohammad Ali told Reuters news agency. | |
| Nizami served as a minister in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government from 2001-2006. | |
| Higher security measures were in place across Dhaka ahead of the verdict as previous decisions by the tribunal have sparked street clashes. | |
| Bangladesh independence war, 1971 |