The highest court in Bangladesh has issued a death sentence for the leader of an Islamist party convicted of war crimes during the country's struggle for independence - a move that critics say has been made under intense political pressure.
The Supreme Court increased the punishment for Abdul Kader Mullah from a term of life imprisonment to one of execution, after he was found guilty earlier this year.
Mullah, 65, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, had been found guilty of crimes against humanity in February. At that time, when the court sentenced him to life imprisonment, there were massive protests in Dhaka and other cities from secular groups and ordinary people, demanding that he receive the death penalty.
The demonstrations, and subsequent counter protests from Islamic groups, left up to 100 people dead.
The scale of the "Shahbagh protests", when scores of thousands of people poured onto the streets demanding the authorities hang Mullah, unnerved the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina and led it amend the law to allow prosecutors to appeal against sentences handed down by the courts. Until that point, prosecutors could only appeal if a court acquitted a defendant.
Mullah, who had been dubbed the Butcher of Mirpur, was accused of the murder of hundreds of civilians in a suburb of Dhaka during the war of independence which saw widescale atrocities.
Ahead of Tuesday's decision, announced by a five-member panel headed by chief justice M Muzammel Hossain, lawyers for Mullah, claimed the legal process taking place in Bangladesh to deal with the incidents of 1971, had fallen foul of political influence. They said the trial had also relied on hearsay evidence. Mullah had denied the charges against him.
"The trial process has been shown to be nothing short of a political show trial aimed at removing an Islamist political party, suppressing the opposition and securing the next election for the present Awami League government," said Toby Cadman, one of Mullah's international lawyers.
"The language of the trial judgment clearly demonstrates that it had little to do with individual criminal liability and more about demonising a political opponent."
Anywhere up to three million people were killed in Bangladesh's war of independence, which was triggered when Pakistan's military refused to accept the results of democratic elections at the end of 1970 which were won by the Awami League, headed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of the current premier.
The court which is hearing the war crimes cases was set up in 2010 by the current government to deal with those people accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces.
Bangladeshi Islamist leader Abdul Kader Mullah sentenced to death - Asia - World - The Independent
