Bangladesh court jails Islamic party leader pending war crime trial

Jan 11, 2012, 12:35 GMT

Dhaka - A court on Wednesday sent the former chief of Bangladesh's main Islamic party to jail pending a trial on charges of ordering deadly attacks against civilians during the 1971 war that liberated the country from Pakistan.

Ghulam Azam, who was a regional leader of Jamaat-e-Islami and later headed the party, faces charges of ordering attacks including killings, rapes, arson and looting carried out by pro-Pakistan militias opposed to independence.

The International Crimes Tribunal in the capital Dhaka rejected Azam's bail plea and ordered him to stay in jail until the trial next year.

Azam, 89, denied the charges, which he and supporters say are politically motivated. Although he quit Jamaat-e-Islami in 2000, many believe he effectively remains party leader.

The war crime trials are a tough test for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has faced calls by human right groups to ensure they are fair and that defendants are allowed to question the impartiality of the tribunal, which is currently banned under the law.

Hasina's government launched the three-judge panel in 2010. Many of those on trial are political rivals of Hasina, who is the daughter of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Azam supporters say the trials are politically motivated.

Jamaat-e-Islami is a bitter rival of Hasina's Awami League party.

Azam went into exile in 1971 after Indian troops and Bangladeshi fighters defeated the Pakistani army. He returned in 1978.

Bangladesh says some 3 million people were killed and tens of thousands of women were raped during the war of independence in what was then East Pakistan.

Seven more defendants, including four Jamaat-e-Islami members and current party leader Matiur Rahman Nizami, are in jail facing similar charges, which they deny.

The court set Azam's next hearing for February 14. If convicted, he can appeal the decision at the Supreme Court.