Bangladesh political leader indicted over 1971 war
Former Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ghulam Azam has been indicted for genocide, murder and other atrocities during Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war. The government claims up to three million people were killed by Pakistan’s army and pro-Pakistan militias during the struggle.
A Bangladeshi special court on Sunday indicted a former opposition leader for alleged atrocities including genocide and murder during the nation’s 1971 liberation struggle agains Pakistan.
Ghulam Azam, 89, the former head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, is accused of creating and leading pro-Pakistan militias which carried out many killings and rapes during the nine-month war.
Wheelchair-bound Azam pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out to him for two hours by Judge Nizamul Huq, who set June 5 as the start of the trial.
“The International Crimes Tribunal charged him with crimes against humanity, genocide, murder, rape, abduction, arson and other crimes under international law,” state prosecutor Ziad Al Malum told AFP.
Azam is the third and most high profile opposition figure to have been charged since the government set up the tribunal in 2010 to try suspects.
Both Jamaat and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party have dismissed the court as a “show trial”, while Human Rights Watch has said procedures used by the tribunal fall short of international standards.
Muslim-majority Bangladesh, which was called East Pakistan until 1971, has struggled to come to terms with its violent birth.
The government says up to three million people were killed in the war by the Pakistani army and local pro-Pakistan militias — a figure disputed by independent historians.
This article was distributed through the NewsCred Smartwire.Original article © Agence France Presse 2012http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/4fb1476cb1e35d9348000003/bangladesh-political-leader-indicted-over-1971-war
http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/4fb1476cb1e35d9348000003/bangladesh-political-leader-indicted-over-1971-wa
Categories: Bangladesh, Democracy, Islam, Pakistan, War
Just wondering why it took them so long?
So how much genocide Phakiritan is admitting?
Bengali are the people who can differentiate between right and wrong, between enemy and friend. We wish them successes. They are simple, straight, honest and sincere.