JURIST - Paper Chase: Bangladesh war crimes tribunal indicts Islamic party leader

[JURIST] The International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh (ICTB) [Facebook page] on Monday indicted [BSS report] former Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Abdul Alim on 17 counts of crimes against humanity, making him the seventh high-profile leader to be indicted, Bangladesh's national news agency reported. Alim and other participants in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] against Pakistan face charges for alleged human rights atrocities committed during the revolution. At his hearing on Monday, Alim was formally charged with inciting genocide and torture, among other crimes. He pleaded not guilty on all charges. His trial was set for July 9.

Alim is the most recent leader to be arrested and charged with war crimes for his participation in atrocities committed during the 1971 war. Last week, Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, the third-highest ranking member of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party, was indicted on several counts [JURIST report], including genocide. Ghulam Azam, former head of the JI party, along with chief Matiur Rahman Nizami and deputy Abdul Quader Molla were indicted [JURIST report] last month by the ICTB. The tribunal ordered Azam's arrest [JURIST report] in January. In November the ICTB began its first trial [JURIST report] in the case against Delwar Hossain Sayedee, a former member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh and one of the former leaders of JI.