The war crimes tribunal of Bangladesh, which was set up during the country's independence struggle, has reportedly sentenced a senior opposition leader and lawmaker to death on Tuesday over torture, rape and genocide charges during the war for independence from Pakistan in 1971.
According to The Dawn, the sentencing of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, a legislator from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is the seventh such verdict by the body set up to probe abuses during the war for independence.
The report mentioned that Chowdhury was charged with killing some 200 civilians and collaborating with Pakistan's army to kill and torture unarmed people, as well as other crimes.
However, the report further said that opposition parties have denounced the process as 'politically motivated' ahead of polls due by January, with more than 100 people killed in protests against the war crimes' verdicts since the start of this year.
