DHAKA: A Bangladeshi court on Monday found a top Jamaat-e-Islaami (JI) leader guilty of masterminding atrocities during the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan and sentenced him to life imprisonment, as violence broke out across the country between police and his supporters.
The decision angered both supporters who said the trial was politically motivated and opponents who said he should be executed.
A special tribunal of three judges announced the decision against Ghulam Azam in a packed courtroom in Dhaka, the capital.
The panel said the former leader of the Jamaat-e-Islaami party deserved capital punishment, but received a jail sentence instead because of his advanced age and poor health.
Azam was in the dock when the verdict was delivered while protesters outside rallied to demand his execution.
Categories: Asia