Bangladesh executed top Jamaat-e-Islami leader Motiur Rahman Nizami for '1971 war crimes', the country's media reported on Tuesday.
Motiur Rahman Nizami, leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was hanged after the country's highest court published the final judgement upholding his execution order.
Nizami's execution could exacerbate tensions in the country after a string of killings of secular and liberal activists and religious minorities..
Officials read the verdict to Nizami on Monday night after he was brought to Dhaka Central Jail from a prison outside the capital, senior jailor Jahangir Kabir told reporters.
The JI leader did not say then whether he would seek any presidential clemency, Kabir said, and prisoners are normally given a 24-hour window after verdict publication to formally apply.
Nizami's lawyer said last week that he would not seek any pardon as it would require him to admit crimes he was convicted of, including mass murder, rape and orchestrating the killing of secular intellectuals during the 1971 war of independence.
Three senior Jamaat officials and a leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been executed since December 2013 for war crimes despite global criticism of their trials. All were hanged at the jail.
“Extra policemen have been deployed at the jail,” Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Mofizuddin Ahmed told AFP.
Heavily armed Rapid Action Battalion officers were also dispatched, the elite squad's spokesman, Mufti Mahmud Khan, told AFP.
Commenting upon the hanging of Motiur Rahman, JI ameer Sirajul Haq stated that contact was made with Prime Minster (PM) Nawaz Sharif and other higher authorities to make an effort for his release. He stated that the Bangladeshi government committed an atrocity by hanging the 71-year old Motiur Rahman. He further said that Motiur Rahman was executed because of his love for Pakistan.
Siraj added that the party will continue to make such sacrifices for the country and that he is disappointed over the criminal silence of the leaders. JI ameer stated that Motiur Rahman was ordered to apologise over the allegations placed upon him but he denied doing so.
Bangladesh Interior Ministry states that Motiur Rahman had not filed a plea for mercy. He was accused of a murder and was named in 16 other cases as well.
