7 more given death penalty over 'war crimes' in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh

A local court in Bangladesh, formed to try "war criminals," on Thursday handed down the death penalty to 7 people for their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the Bangladesh independence war in 1971.

A three-member panel of the International Crimes Tribunal-1 convicted the men from south-western Bagerhat district on charges of murders, rape, looting, kidnapping, and arson during the 1971 liberation war.

Three defendants were present in the court when the 293-page verdict was announced. There were nine accused in this case. Of them, two died during the court proceedings while the remaining four are absconding.

Seven charges were brought against the accused in May 2017.

Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971 after a bloody war that lasted for months.

The tribunal, set up in 2009, has been criticized by global rights groups for not following fair trial standards. Since then, it has delivered verdicts against over 137 people in over 50 cases.

Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, have criticized the Bangladesh war crimes tribunal for not meeting international fair trial standards.

Six top leaders of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and one Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader were hanged after they were convicted by the court.