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Bangladesh on Alert After Execution of Islamist Opposition Leader


Bangladeshi security personnel cordon an ambulance leaving Central Jail carrying the body of Mohammad Qamaruzzaman, an assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami party, after he was executed in Dhaka, April 11, 2015.
Bangladeshi security personnel cordon an ambulance leaving Central Jail carrying the body of Mohammad Qamaruzzaman, an assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami party, after he was executed in Dhaka, April 11, 2015.

Security forces are on alert in Bangladesh following the execution of a top Islamist leader convicted of crimes against humanity for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Mohammad Kamaruzzaman was hanged Saturday night at the central jail in the capital, Dhaka.

Officials tightened security across the capital as thousands poured onto the streets to celebrate the execution.

The Jamaat-e-Islami party has denounced the execution and called for a nationwide strike on Monday.

Prosecutors said that, as an assistant secretary-general of Jamaat-e-Islami, the 63-year-old Kamaruzzaman was responsible for the massacre of at least 120 unarmed farmers.

Around 3 million people died in the nine-month war of independence against Pakistan.

The United Nations, European Union and United States had urged the government not to proceed with the execution after the U.N. said the trial did not meet international standards.

Some material for this report came from AP, AFP and Reuters.

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