Shakhawat to die, seven jailed for life

A special tribunal in Dhaka on Wednesday sentenced former Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP lawmaker Shakhawat Hossain to death and seven others to life term imprisonment in a case filed against them in connection with crimes against humanity committed in Jessore during the Liberation War in 1971.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 led by Justice Anwarul Haque passed the order after two of the accused -- Shakhawat and Billal Hossain Biswas – were produced before the court around 10:45am.

The accused were facing five charges of crimes including killing and rape.

Earlier, on Tuesday the three-member tribunal headed by Justice Anwarul Haque fixed the date 26 days after it had completed trial of the case.

All the accused hailed from Keshabpur upazila in Jessore.

Apart from Shakhawat, who is now involved with Jatiya Party, Billal Hossain Biswas is also behind bars. Another accused Lutfar Morol died of old age complications in May this year.

The other accused -- Ibrahim Hossain, Mujibur Rahman, Kazi Ohidul Islam, Aziz Sardar, Aziz Sardar and Abdul Khaleq Morol -- are on the run.

The prosecution on July 26 last year pressed charges against 12 people over the killing of two persons, rape of one and torture on two others in the Bangla month of Ashwin (between mid-September and mid-October) during the war in 1971.