Bangladesh Tribunal Arrests Key War Crimes Suspect

Bangladesh Tribunal Arrests Key War Crimes Suspect

By SONJA DECHIAN | Published: JANUARY 13, 2012

Bangladesh has arrested the former leader of the country’s largest Islamist party on charges of masterminding war crimes during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

89-year-old Ghulam Azam, a former head of opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party, is accused of crimes against humanity including creating and leading pro-Pakistan militias that carried out murders and rapes during the nine-month war in 1971.

The International Crimes Tribunal rejected a bail request made on health grounds and ordered him jailed until his trial.

Azam denies the charges, saying they are politically motivated.