Bangladesh Islamist party chief sentenced to death
Dhaka, January 31, 2014: A special court in Chittagong imposed the death penalty
on Motiur Rahman Nizami, head of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's largest Islamist
party after he was convicted of smuggling weapons in 2004. The court also imposed
the death penalty on 13 other defendants.
On 1 April 2004, police recovered
ten truckloads of weapons and ammunition at the jetty of Chittagong Urea Fertiliser
Ltd (CUFL).
They included 4,930 sophisticated firearms of different types,
840 rocket launchers, 300 rockets, 27,020 grenades, 2,000 grenade-launching tubes,
6,392 magazines and 11.41 million bullets. At the time, Nizami was Industries minister.
The
ameer (chief) of the Jamaat, who denied any involvement in the smuggling case, has
also been charged with 16 additional counts, including crimes against humanity and
genocide committed during the war of liberation from Pakistan in 1971. The international
tribunal has yet to rule in this case.
In view of the ruling, many are afraid
that tensions might escalate, and that Jamaat and its supporters might engage in new
violent protests, such as those that occurred in late 2013. (Source: AsiaNews)