Bangladesh court upholds death sentence on Islamist leader for 1971 war crimes

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of Jamaat-e-Islami’s chief financier for war crimes, in a major blow to the country’s biggest Islamist party. Mir Quasem Ali, a shipping and real estate tycoon, was convicted in 2014 of abducting and murdering a young fighter during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan. Three senior Jamaat officials and a leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been executed since December 2013 for war crimes, despite global criticism of their trials by a controversial war crimes tribunal.

The court upheld his death sentence for the abduction and murder of a young freedom fighter whose body was dumped in a river.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam

The trials have divided the country and sparked deadly protests, with supporters of Jamaat and the BNP branding them a sham aimed at eliminating their leaders. The 63-year-old senior party leader faces the gallows within months unless his case is reviewed by the same court or he is granted clemency by the Bangladeshi president. Jamaat was banned after its leaders became key organisers of the notorious pro-Pakistani militia al-Badr during the nine-month war of independence.

The future will decide whether it was a fair verdict.

Defence lawyer Mahbub Hossain

Mir Quasem Ali