A regional commander of the razakar militia of the Pakistan military was sentenced to jail until death on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Bangladesh’s liberation War in 1971.
Abdul Jabbar, now believed to be hiding in the U.S., was a Muslim League leader during the Pakistan era and was also a lawmaker from the Jatiya Party-led Gen. H. M. Ershad government in the Bangladesh era.
The 82-year-old was also sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on several other charges and fined Tk. 10 lakh in absentia . If he fails to pay the fine, he will have to serve two years more in jail, the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal-1 said in a verdict delivered on Tuesday.
The tribunal led by its Chairman Justice M. Enayetur Rahim found Jabbar, an engineer by profession, guilty in all the five charges brought against him. Terming his offences “barbarous and shocking” the chairman of the tribunal observed, “He deserves death but his punishment has been mitigated considering his old age.”
