International

Opposition leader in Bangladesh executed for war crimes

Published

8 years ago

May 11, 2016

Opposition leader in Bangladesh executed for war crimes

Head of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami opposition party Motiur Rahman Nizami has been executed in Bangladesh after he was convicted of genocide, rape and massacres.

Members of Jamaat-el-Islami party are now calling for a general strike after the hanging of Nisami for war crimes committed during the 1971 war of independence to break away from Pakistan.

Reports say Nizami was hanged at Dhaka Central jail at one minute past midnightlocal time on Wednesday after the Supreme Court rejected his final plea against a death sentence imposed by a special tribunal for genocide, rape and orchestrating the massacre of top intellectuals during the war.

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In a sign of divided opinion over the hanging, scores of protesters came out in the streets of Dhaka to condemn the execution, while hundreds of others cheered the move.

“We have waited for this day for a long 45 years,” said war veteran Akram Hossain. “Justice has finally been served.”

Thousands of extra police and border guards were deployed in the capital Dhaka and other major cities to tighten security as Jamaat-e-Islami called for a nationwide strike on Thursday in protest of the execution.

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