The apex court of Bangladesh has upheld the death penalty for senior BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, who was an associate of the Pakistan Army during Liberation War 1971.
The four-member appeals bench, led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict, which was greeted with huge relief in and outside the courtroom.
A former MinisterChowdhury is the second former Minister found for crimes against humanity and awarded death penalty. He is also the fifth to get a verdict on the appeal against the tribunal’s judgment ever since the Sheikh Hasina government initiated the historic trials process in 2010.
On October 1, 2013, a war crimes tribunal had found him guilty of nine of the 23 charges brought against him by the prosecution. The International Crimes Tribunal-1 sentenced him to death for murder; genocide of Hindus; and rampant abductions.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said that the verdict has fulfilled their expectations. However, Chowdhury’s lawyer Khandker Mahbub Hossain said that they will seek a review after the full verdict is published. Chowdhury’s family maintains he is innocent.
