Another top Jamaat leader in B'desh faces sentencing tomorrow

The fate of another top Jamaat leader, accused of murder, genocide and conspiracy during Bangladesh's 1971 liberation war will be decided tomorrow by a tribunal, a day after the fundamentalist party's spiritual leader was sentenced to 90 years in jail for war crimes.
The sentencing of Jamaat's incumbent secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed is scheduled tomorrow as the tribunal hearing his case wrapped up the trial proceedings.
"Prosecution and defence, we will deliver the verdict in Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed case tomorrow," Justice Obaidul Hassan, chairman of International Crimes Tribunal-2, announced.
The top Jamaat leader is an alleged stalwart of infamous Al-Badr force, which is held responsible particularly for the December 14, 1971 massacre of leading intelligentsia just two days ahead of the final victory against Pakistan.

Mojaheed is facing seven charges which include murder, genocide and conspiracy.
If convicted, Mojaheed could get the death penalty.

Soon after the tribunal announcement, Jamaat called another countrywide shutdown for tomorrow while the Ganojagaran Mancha said they would enforce an overnight sit-in vigil at Shahbagh Square demanding maximum punishment for Mojaheed.
Jamaat's acting secretary general Rafiqul Islam Khan, in a statement, said the government was hatching a plot in the month of holy Ramadan to "judicially kill" Mojaheed in the name of trying war crimes suspects.
There are two tribunals dealing with the war crimes cases and verdicts in five cases have been delivered so far.

The Tribunal-1 yesterday awarded 90-year jail to former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam for his war time offences.