A Bangladeshi activist celebrates after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the execution of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, convicted of war crimes in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, July 29, 2015.
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A four-member bench of the appellate division led by Chief Justice Surendra Sinha delivered the verdict this morning.
Chowdhury has previously served as an advisor to BNP leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
Prosecutors had described Chowdhury, a minister in the previous BNP-led government, as a merciless killer who murdered more than 200 Hindus, including the owner of a well-known herbal medicine company.
On October 1, 2013, the appellate tribunal found Chowdhury, 66, guilty of nine of the 23 charges brought against him by the prosecution.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for an influential opposition leader and an aide to a former prime minister for his role in mass killings during the country’s independence war against Pakistan in 1971.
Chowdhury’s father, who actively opposed the creation of independent Bangladesh and allegedly committed war crimes, died at jail when his trial was going on.
Instead, hundreds of people came out to the streets in support of the court decision both in the capital Dhaka and in Chittagong, with pro-government groups holding “victory processions” and handing out candies.
His trial was told that Chowdhury had dragged owner Nutan Chandra Sinha out of his prayer room and Pakistani soldiers had then shot him.
Police stepped up security in Dhaka and in Chowdhury’s home city of Chittagong before the judgement.
Previous convictions by the tribunal have sparked deadly violence in the country.
The global Crimes Tribunals have tried the cases of several war criminals since they were set by the Hasina government in 2010, nearly 40 years after the Liberation War which left an estimated 3 million dead and over 3 lakh women raped.
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence for the…
“Salauddin Quader Chowdhury appeared in pleasant mood”, said jailor Reza.
A Minnesota dentist who went on a guided bow hunting trip for big game in Zimbabwe said that he had no idea the lion he killed was protected and that he relied on the expertise of his local guides to ensure the…
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“We, the nation will be glad if his death verdict is executed immediately”, he said. “Some may be unhappy now for what I have said and so I am facing harassment”.
