Dhaka -The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Wednesday handed down death sentence to former Jamaat MP Maulana Shakhawat Hossain of Jessore district and jailed seven others until death on charges of crimes against humanity during the Liberation War of 1971, UNB news agency reported.
The three-member tribunal, headed by its chairman Justice M Anwarul Haque, delivered the verdict. Justice Shahinur Islam and Justice Mohammad Suhrawardi are two other members of the bench.The ICT found them guilty on all the five charges pressed against them.
The other seven convicts who were given jail until death are Ibrahim Hossain, Sheikh Mohammad Mujibur Rahman, M Abdul Aziz Sardar, MA Aziz, Kazi Ohidul, Billal Hossain and Abdul Khalek Morol.
Another accused, Lutfar Morol, died in jail in 2015.
Maulana Shakhawat Hossain and Billal Hossain are now behind the bars while six others are absconding.
Prosecution lawyer D Turin Afroz told reporters after the verdict that they were pleased with the verdict.
Earlier on July 14, closing the law point arguments from both the prosecution and the defense, the ICT kept pending its verdict for any day.
On September 8, 2015, the tribunal took the charges against the nine accused into cognizance.
The tribunal also acquitted three other accused–Ojihar Morol, Akram Hossain and Moshiur Rahman–of the cases as no specific charges were brought against them.
Earlier on July 26, 2015, the prosecution pressed five counts of charges against Shakhawat Hossain and 11 others for their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the war.
On November 29, 2014, police arrested Maulana Sakhawat Hossain from the city’s Uttarkhan area on the war crimes charges.
The war crime charges against him include murder and mass killing.
A war crimes investigation agency started investigation into the crimes in April 2012.
Shakhawat was a central committee member of the then Islami Chhatra Sangha (now Islami Chhatra Shibir) in 1971.
Shakhawat was elected MP on Jamaat ticket from Keshabpur constituency in 1991 while on BNP ticket in the February 15 election in 1996.
Jatiya Party picked him for the January-5 election. However, his candidature was cancelled on the war crimes charges.
