An 80-year-old lawmaker with Bangladesh's main opposition party was today arrested along with his son on charges of committing warcrimes during the country's 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
Mohammad Abdul Hannan, lawmaker from Trishal and presidium member of Jatiya Party, and Rafique Sazzad, 62, were arrested after warrants were issued against them by International Crimes Tribunal.
"We have arrested MA Hannan MP to comply with a warrant issued by the (country's) International Crimes Tribunal," police told PTI.
Hannan was arrested with his son. Arrest warrants has been issued against eight others.
"We also received simultaneously the tribunal warrants ordering arrest of eight other suspected 1971 collaborators (of Pakistani army) in 1971, but we would disclose their names only after they are arrested," they said.
Hannan was elected from a central Mymensingh district constituency and the eight others also hailed from the same region, a police official said.
The state-run BSS news agency reported police arrested Hannan from his uptown Banani residence.
Jatiya Party, a political party established by President Hussain Mohammad Ershad, is now officially the main opposition party after former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotted the January 5, 2014 elections.
However, the party has its representatives in the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's cabinet.
About three million people were killed by the Pakistani army and their Bengali-speaking collaborators during the liberation war when Jamaat was opposed to Bangladesh's independence siding with the Pakistani junta.
