DHAKA, Bangladesh
The alleged commander of a militia accused of committing atrocities during Bangladesh's 1971 independence war has been sentenced to death.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal, a special domestic court tasked with investigating war crimes, sentenced 65-year-old Syed Hasan Ali to death on Tuesday after he was tried in absentia.
Ali was found guilty of collaborating with the Pakistani army, which Bangladesh fought for independence, as a regional leader of the Razakar militia.
He is also accused of involvement in murder, arson and looting.
Unlike others convicted by the war crimes tribunal, Ali has not remained politically active but was previously part of the Nezami-e-Islami party, which opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, according to the local Dhaka Tribune newspaper.
Most of the leadership of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's most prominent Islamist party, have been sentenced to death after being found guilty of war crimes.
Two executions, both of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, have been carried out since the tribunal was established in 2009 to investigate alleged war crimes during the 1971 war.
Bangladesh's law minister Anisul Haque announced last week that the government is planning to change the law so that it can put the whole Jamaat-e-Islami party on trial for war crimes related to its alleged close collaboration with the Pakistani army.
Though the tribunal has popular support among many in Bangladesh, some opposition parties and international observers have claimed it does not follow fair-trial standards and is politically motivated.
