Bangladesh Sentences Islamic Leader to Death for War Crimes
Bangladeshi activists shout slogans as they celebrate outside the International Crimes Tribunal where leaders of the country’s largest Islamic party the Jamaat-e-Islami party are on trial in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 5, 2013.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court handed down a death sentence to Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of the Jemaat-e-Islami party and a top Islamic leader during the country's 1971 war of independence against Pakistan. Mollah had earlier been convicted of crimes against humanity.
The sentencing comes after a previous sentence of life in prison, handed down by a war crimes tribunal, was deemed too lenient. Protests erupted after his original sentence was issued in January, leading parliament to revise its war crimes laws. The laws now allow the state to appeal any sentence deemed to be inadequate.
More than 100 people died in the protests over a series of months earlier this year. Mollah's sentence was the first handed down by the war crimes tribunal.
Protests Erupt After Bangladeshi War Criminal's Resentencing
1/6A man sprays water on a car set on fire by activists of the Jemaat-e-Islami party protesting the revised sentencing of Abdul Quader Mollah, Dhaka, Sept. 17, 2013.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled that Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of the Jemaat-e-Islami party, should be put to death for crimes against humanity, instead of his original sentence of life in prison.
2/6Shamsul Huq, a driver, sits inside his auto rickshaw after his right arm was burned by a crude bomb thrown during a protest against the revised sentencing of Abdul Quader Mollah, Dhaka Sept. 17, 2013.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled that Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of the Jemaat-e-Islami party, should be put to death for crimes against humanity, instead of his original sentence of life in prison.
3/6Activists shout slogans and celebrate the verdict against Jemaat-e-Islami party leader Abdul Quader Mollah in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sept. 17, 2013.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled that Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of the Jemaat-e-Islami party, should be put to death for crimes against humanity, instead of his original sentence of life in prison.
4/6An activist celebrates the verdict against Jemaat-e-Islami party leader Abdul Quader Mollah in Dhaka, Sept. 17, 2013.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled that Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of the Jemaat-e-Islami party, should be put to death for crimes against humanity, instead of his original sentence of life in prison.
5/6Security personnel stand guard in front of a court where a verdict against Jemaat-e-Islami party leader Abdul Quader Mollah was delivered in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sept. 17, 2013.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled that Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of the Jemaat-e-Islami party, should be put to death for crimes against humanity, instead of his original sentence of life in prison.
6/6Police search pedestrians in front of a court after a verdict against Jemaat-e-Islami party leader Abdul Quader Mollah was delivered in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sept. 17, 2013.
Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled that Abdul Quader Mollah, a leader of the Jemaat-e-Islami party, should be put to death for crimes against humanity, instead of his original sentence of life in prison.
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