Bangladesh hangs two opposition leaders for 1971 war crimes
Bengali activists from the Pakistan Muslim Alliance (PMA) carry a banner during a protest against the Bangladesh government over the execution of Bangladeshi Nationalist Party leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, in Karachi on November 22, 2015. Bangladesh on November 22 hanged two top opposition leaders for war crimes during the independence conflict with Pakistan. PHOTO | RIZWAN TABASSUM | AFP
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Thousands of extra police and border guards were deployed in Dhaka and other major cities and towns on the eve of a general strike called to protest the executions.
Bangladesh has been embroiled in violence for much of the last three years since a tribunal began delivering its verdicts on opposition figures accused of orchestrating massacres during the 1971 war.
A total of 18 people have been convicted but only two had been sent to the gallows before Mujahid and Chowdhury were hanged at Dhaka’s Central Prison shortly before 1am.
DHAKA, Sunday
Bangladesh hanged two top opposition leaders for war crimes committed during the independence conflict with Pakistan and boosted security across the country over fears of unrest.
Thousands of extra police and border guards were deployed in Dhaka and other major cities and towns on the eve of a general strike called to protest the executions.
Supporters of the ruling Awami League meanwhile greeted the executions of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury by holding street parties and distributing sweets to children.
Bangladesh has been embroiled in violence for much of the last three years since a tribunal began delivering its verdicts on opposition figures accused of orchestrating massacres during the 1971 war.
A total of 18 people have been convicted but only two had been sent to the gallows before Mujahid and Chowdhury were hanged at Dhaka’s Central Prison shortly before 1am.
While the other three were members of the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, Chowdhury was a senior figure in the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Jamaat, banned from contesting the 2014 general election, said the executions were part of a strategy aimed at eliminating its leadership.
RETURN OF KHALED ZIA
BNP also accused Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of presiding over a politically-motivated killing, which was carried only hours after its leader Khaleda Zia returned from a lengthy stay in London.
Some of the tightest security measures were in place in the hometowns of the two executed men whose funerals were held on Sunday morning.
“We’ve stepped up security across the country to prevent violence, including on the roads along which the bodies were taken,” police spokesman Munstashirul Islam said.
Hundreds of officers were deployed outside the central city of Faridpur where Mujahid was buried soon after day break.
Reinforcements were also sent to Chowdhury’s hometown of Raojan in the southeast, officials said.
The 67-year-old Mujahid, Jamaat’s official number two, was sentenced for war crimes such as the killing of top intellectuals. (AFP)
