Three found guilty of war crimes in Bangladesh

At least one man was sentenced to death and two others to life in prison by a war tribunal here on Wednesday for their crimes committed during the country's War of Independence in 1971.

The International Crimes Tribunal found the three -- all brothers -- guilty of charges including rape, murder, confinement and torture of unarmed civilians, Xinhua news agency reported.

Defence counsel Masud Rana expressed discontent with the verdict, saying his clients will file appeal with the Supreme Court.

After returning to power in January 2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangladesh's independence struggle hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, established the first tribunal in March 2010, almost 40 years after the 1971 war.

At least four leaders of opposition Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party -- Motiur Rahman Nizami, Abdul Quader Molla, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid -- have already been executed for war crimes.

Apart from them, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Salaudin Quader Chowdhury was executed on November 22, 2015.

Both BNP and Jamaat have dismissed the court as a government "show trial", and said it is a domestic set-up without the oversight or involvement of the UN.

The current government said about three million people were killed in the war.

--IANS

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