BBC News - Abdus Subhan: Bangladesh Islamist charged over war crimes
A leading member of Bangladesh's main Islamist party has been charged in connection with war crimes during the 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.
Abdus Subhan was arrested last September and the special war crimes court conducted an inquiry before finally framing charges. The tribunal was set up in 2010 to investigate abuses committed in that war, but human rights groups say it does not meet international standards.
Mr Subhan has denied all the charges.
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Bangladesh independence war, 1971
The government set up the special court to deal with those accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces who attempted to stop East Pakistan, as Bangladesh was then, from becoming an independent country.
While many Bangladeshis have welcomed the work of the ICT, Jamaat supporters say it is a politically-motivated attempt to eradicate its leaders. Earlier this year Bangladesh executed senior Islamist leader Abdul Kader Mullah, convicted of atrocities committed during that war.
Four other leading figures in Jamaat-e-Islami have also been convicted by the ICT and face the death penalty.
Jamaat is barred from contesting elections scheduled for 5 January but plays a key role in the opposition movement led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Just last week opposition supporters clashed with security forces in Dhaka ahead of the election - they want to see caretaker government installed before polls, but the government has rejected this demand.
A leading member of Bangladesh's main Islamist party has been charged in connection with war crimes during the 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.
Abdus Subhan was arrested last September and the special war crimes court conducted an inquiry before finally framing charges. The tribunal was set up in 2010 to investigate abuses committed in that war, but human rights groups say it does not meet international standards.
Mr Subhan has denied all the charges.
Continue reading the main story
Bangladesh independence war, 1971
- Civil war erupts in Pakistan, pitting the West Pakistan army against East Pakistanis demanding autonomy and later independence
- Fighting forces an estimated 10 million East Pakistani civilians to flee to India
- In December, India invades East Pakistan in support of the East Pakistani people
- Pakistani army surrenders at Dhaka and its army of more than 90,000 become Indian prisoners of war
- East Pakistan becomes the independent country of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971
- The war was devastating in its brutality but there are a range of estimates for the exact number of people killed - government figures estimate as many as three million died. Other studies suggest 300-500,000 perished.
The government set up the special court to deal with those accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces who attempted to stop East Pakistan, as Bangladesh was then, from becoming an independent country.
While many Bangladeshis have welcomed the work of the ICT, Jamaat supporters say it is a politically-motivated attempt to eradicate its leaders. Earlier this year Bangladesh executed senior Islamist leader Abdul Kader Mullah, convicted of atrocities committed during that war.
Four other leading figures in Jamaat-e-Islami have also been convicted by the ICT and face the death penalty.
Jamaat is barred from contesting elections scheduled for 5 January but plays a key role in the opposition movement led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Just last week opposition supporters clashed with security forces in Dhaka ahead of the election - they want to see caretaker government installed before polls, but the government has rejected this demand.
