Dhaka: Bangladesh's apex court on Monday upheld the life sentence given to a Islamist preacher for committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War by siding with Pakistani troops.
The Supreme Court dismissed both the pleas filed by the state and defence and stood by its earlier judgement to jail war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, 77, until his death, bdnews24.com reported.
A five-member bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict today after a two-day hearing, the report said.
The trial of Sayedee began at the International Crimes Tribunal-1 in 2011 and a verdict was pronounced in 2013.
Of the 20 charges against him, Sayeedi was given the death sentence for two -- the murders of Ibrahim Kutti and Bisabali, and for setting fire to Hindu households in Pirojpur in 1971.
The Supreme Court verdict, delivered in 2014, sentenced Sayeedi on five charges of the 20 that were framed against him.
The verdict reduced Sayedee's death sentence for Ibrahim Kutti's murder to imprisonment for 12 years.
In its second appeal verdict in a war crimes case, the apex court sentenced Sayedee to prison until death for three charges which include the murder of Bisabali and arson in a Hindu neighbourhood, abduction and rape of three sisters of Gauranga Saha.
Saha was a prosecution witness and identified Sayeedi as the man who had handed over his sisters to the Pakistani army to be taken away as sex slaves. They were returned after three days. Sayeedi was also sentenced to prison until death on charges of forcible conversions of 100-150 Hindus.
Six other charges were also proven beyond doubt but no sentencing followed as he had already been given the death penalty.
Fifteen months after the verdict, the Supreme Court published the full verdict in December, 2015, paving the way for reviews.
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