DHAKA, Bangladesh
A special Bangladeshi court has sentenced to death Motian Maulana Rahman Nizami - leader of opposition party Jamaat-e-Islami - for arms smuggling, along with 13 others.
Amongst the 13 sentenced are: Former State Minister for Home Affairs, Lutfozzaman Babar; former Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGF) director, Maj Gen, Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury; and former National Security Intelligence (NSI) director general, Brig Gen.
The Chittagong special court handed down the death penalty to the 14 convicts for smuggling charges relating to 10 truckloads of fire arms seized almost 10 years ago, in 2004.
Nizami has called the verdict an "injustice."
"I will appeal," Nizami said after the verdict was announced.
Nizami's defense lawyer, Qumrul Islam said: "We are disappointed with this verdict. It is a high profile political case and the verdict is a high profile political one as well."
Police discovered the 10 trucks-full-of-arms on April 1, 2004 on two vessels at the Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Ltd. (CUFL) jetty, a state-owned public company of the Ministry of Industry, under the Industry Minister Rahman Nizami, Maulana Motian.
On April 2, police seized sophisticated arms fire, rocket launchers, rockets, grenades, magazines and bullets from two engine boats at the jetty of the CUFL.
The arms and ammunition were reportedly intended for the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).
Nizami, leader of Jamaat, was the Industry Minister and Babar was the State Minister for Home of theBangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), BangladeshJamaat-e-Islami (BJI)-led four party alliance governments in 2004.
Two cases were filed at police stations in Chittagong on the following day, under the Special Power Act and Arms Act for smuggling in 10 trucks of firearms in 2004.
The special court filed charges against the accused on November 15 in 2009.
A total of 38 people were accused and examined under CRPC and 53 prosecution witnesses in the case and 56 in the arms smuggling cases testified.
Mr. Nurul Amin, former industries secretary, Major General (retd.) Rezzakul Haider, former director general of the national security intelligence (NSI), Brigadier General (retd.) Abdur Rahim, NSI director, Mohsin Talukder, CUFL former Managing Director and Paresh Barua, leader of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), a separatist organization of the Indian province of Assam, were among the persons implicated.
Paresh Barua and Nurul Amin are absconding.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah, was convicted by International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) and was executed on December 12. The execution took place on Thursday, December 12, at Dhaka Central Jail in Bangladesh.
On September 17, the Supreme Court of Bangladeshsentenced Jamaat leader Mollah to death. On February 5, 2013, Abdul Quader Mollah, Assistant Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party, the biggest Islamist party of Bangladesh, was sentenced to life in prison by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), a domestic court holding trials for atrocities committed during Bangladesh's 1971 war of liberation from West Pakistan.
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