A tribunal has sentenced six people to death for murder, genocide and other crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War in Khulna.
A three-member bench of the International Crimes Tribunal led by Justice Md Shahinur Islam delivered the verdict on Thursday.
The convicts are Amjad Hossain Howlader, Shahar Ali Sardar, Atiar Rahman Sheikh, Motasin Billah, Kamal Uddin Goldar, and Nazrul Islam. They stand accused of war crimes in Botiaghata Upazila, reports bdnews24.com.
Nazrul Islam is absconding, but the other five were brought to court to hear the verdict.
Prosecutor Sabina Yesmin Khan stood for the state, while Abdus Sattar Palwan represented the accused
Seven suspects were named in the case and six were arrested. However, one of their number – Mozahar Ali Sheikh – died of natural causes before the indictment. The court then took cognisance of charges against six suspects.
The prosecution accused them of four counts of charges that include murder, genocide, illegal detention, torture, kidnapping, looting and arson.
The formal investigation of the case started on November 15, 2015, and the report was filed with the tribunal on August 8, 2017.
The trial proceedings kicked off the following year after the tribunal framed charges against the accused.
Sixteen witnesses testified for the prosecution against the accused in the case.