B'desh leader gets death verdict for '71 war crimes
February 28, 2013  13:42
Senior Islamist leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi sentenced to death by war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh.

Arrested in June 2010, he is accused of murder, rape and arson during the country's 1971 war of independence.

The verdict will be the third issued by the controversial tribunal, which is trying a total of nine Jamaat leaders in what critics say is a vendetta.

Last week, thousands of people staged a protest in Dhaka, demanding that Sayeedi be given the death sentence.

The tribunals has sparked violent clashes in Dhaka in recent weeks which have left a number of people dead. Sayeedi is accused of working with the Al-Badr group during the independence struggle and carrying out numerous atrocities, including forcibly converting Hindus to Islam.

His critics say that during the war he formed a small group to loot and seize the property of Bengali Hindus and those who supported independence. He denies all 19 charges against him, which include murder, rape, crimes against humanity and genocide.
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