Bangladesh's war crimes court Tuesday sentenced a leading Islamist to death for crimes committed during the country's 1971 conflict.
A.T.M Azharul Islam, 62, became the 16th person and the 11th Islamist to be convicted of atrocities by the International Crimes Tribunal, which found him guilty of being a key member of a militia.
Azharul Islam is the assistant secretary general of the nation's largest religious party, the Jamaat-i-Islami.
He was ordered “hanged by the neck” for the genocide in the northern district of Rangpur. “No doubt, it was mass murder,” presiding judge Enayetur Rahim told a packed court.
The nine-month war in 1972 saw what was then east Pakistan break away from the regime in Islamabad.
Since it was established by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government in 2010, the self-styled International Crimes Tribunal has sentenced around a dozen opposition leaders for war crimes.
Rights groups have criticised the trials, saying they fall short of international standards and lack any international oversight.
