Dhaka: A Bangladesh tribunal convicted a top Islamic partypolitician on Thursday of atrocities stemming from the nation's 1971 independencewar and sentenced him to death.
The verdict against Muhammad Kamaruzzaman was the fourthverdict in Bangladesh's war crimes tribunals since January, and many feared itcould spark another wave of deadly street violence between his supporters andsecurity forces.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called the trials along-overdue effort at obtaining justice against war criminals four decadesafter Bangladesh split from Pakistan. Critics accuse Hasina of using thetribunals to decimate the country's opposition parties ahead of electionsscheduled for next year.
Kamaruzzaman, 61, was convicted in a packed courtroom onfive counts of mass killings, rape, torture and kidnapping, Attorney GeneralMahbubey Alam said.
Obaidul Hassan, the head of the three-judge tribunal, saidthe charges had been proved beyond a doubt and sentenced him to death.
Defense lawyer Ehsan Siddiky said justice was denied to hisclient and he promised to appeal.
During the trial, Kamaruzzaman denied the allegations andsaid the prosecution was politically motivated.
Kamaruzzaman is the assistant secretary-general ofJamaat-e-Islami, a hardline Islamic party that opposed Bangladesh'sindependence, but denies participating in wartime atrocities. The party is akey partner in the opposition coalition.
Kamaruzzaman was found guilty of leading his followers tokill at least 183 people in his home district of Sherpur in northernBangladesh.
The prosecution said he formed the group Al-Badr tocollaborate with the Pakistani army and led them to kill unarmed people andrape women.
Bangladesh says the war left 3 million people dead, 200,000women raped and forced millions to flee to neighboring India.
Kamaruzzaman has one month to appeal the verdict.
Bangladesh put its security forces on high alert in anticipationof the verdict.
In February, more than 70 people were killed as riots sweptthrough Bangladesh after the war crimes tribunal ordered another top Jamaatleader, Delwar Hossain Sayedee, to die for crimes against humanity.
Another Jamaat leader, Abdul Kader Mollah, was given lifeimprisonment in February. The first verdict of the tribunal was against AbulKalam Azad, an Islamic cleric and a former Jamaat leader, who was sentenced todeath.