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Bangladesh hangs Jamaat’s top leader for 1971 war crimes
DHAKA: Bangladesh hanged a top Islamist party figure on Saturday for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, an official said.
DHAKA: Bangladesh hanged a top Islamist party figure on Saturday for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, an official said.
Proshanto Kumar Bonik, a senior jail superintendent, told reporters that Mir Quasem Ali, known as a business tycoon and top financier for the party, was hanged at 10.30pm. (Bangladesh time) inside Kashimpur jail in Gazipur district.
Hours after his family members met Ali inside the jail house, the excursion happened amid tight security.
The execution took place as Ali on Friday told authorities that he would not seek presidential clemency for his crimes.
It followed Tuesday’s rejection by the country’s Supreme Court of a final appeal for scrapping the death sentence given by a special tribunal in 2014.
Ali is the sixth man to be hanged since 2010 when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formed the special tribunal to try suspected war criminals. Five of them were from Jamaat-e-Islami party, which is the main partner of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Ali became a business tycoon with connection in Saudi Arabia and other middle eastern nations and turned out to be a top financier of Jamaat-e-Islami that was banned after Bangladesh gained independence. But later the party returned to the political landscape following the assassination of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha rejected the appeal by Ali, clearing the last legal barrier.
Reacting immediately after the execution, Jamaat-e-Islami called an eight-hour general strike across the country on Monday in protest.
