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Bangla media baron sentenced to death
The court said in its verdict that eight of the 14 charges levelled against him have been proved while two were partially proved.
Dhaka: A top leader of fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party and Bangladeshi media doyen Mir Quasem Ali was sentenced to death on Sunday by a special tribunal for war crimes he committed during the independence war against Pakistan in 1971, days after the party's chief was given capital punishment on identical charges.
Alongside a number of businesses in different sectors, Ali owns the Diganta Media Corporation, which runs a now suspended television channel and a newspaper, known for their close links with Jamaat.
The International Crimes Tribunal-2, chaired by Justice Obaidul Hassan, passed the sentence nearly six months after a case against him was wrapped up and he was found guilty, bdnews24.com reported.
The court said in its verdict that eight of the 14 charges levelled against him have been proved while two were partially proved.
On Wednesday, Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal-1.
Quasem has been sentenced to death for killing young freedom fighter 'Jashim' and several others who could be identified and for dumping their bodies into the Karnaphuli river. He was also given 72 years in prison for various charges, including torture, abduction and confinement.
The defence counsel said they will appeal against the verdict. "The prosecution failed to provide documents to prove his presence in Chittagong when the said crimes were committed. Quasem was actually in Dhaka," defence counsel Md. Mizanul Islam said.
Quasem is said to have been the third man in vigilante militia Al-Badr's command during the 1971 Liberation War. He was brought to the courtroom on Sunday morning. He rose and reacted loudly when the judge announced the death sentence for him.
He was indicted on September 5 last year on 14 counts, including murder, abduction and torture. His trial ended May 4 this year. Quasem is said to be one of Jamaat's top financiers. He is also the director of Islami Bank and chairman of the Diganta Media Corporation.
He was arrested on June 17 last year from the office of newspaper Naya Diganta less than two hours after the tribunal issued a arrest warrant against him.
