[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] called on the government of Bangladesh [press release] Friday to stop the execution of two convicted war criminals whom they claim were not afforded a fair trial. On Wednesday the Bangladesh Supreme Court upheld [JURIST report] the death sentences of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, members of opposition political parties convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh (ICTB) [official website] of war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War. Bran Adams, Asia Director of HRW, acknowledged the demand for justice but insisted that war criminals are still entitled to the fundamental rights of ordinary defendants. The organization reported that the government intentionally hindered Mujahid and Salauddin’s ability to enforce their rights, have an expeditious trial, and call witnesses necessary for an effective defense. The two criminals can be hanged at any time [Nation report] if the president does not grant clemency.

The ICTB, established in 2009 under the International Crimes Act [text], is charged with investigating and prosecuting war crimes committed during the 1971 conflict, in which about 3 million people were killed. In June a Bangladeshi court gave Syed Mohammed Hasan Ali, a fugitive commander of an auxiliary force of Pakistani troops, a death sentence [JURIST report] for torture and massacre in the Liberation War. In April a Bangladeshi appeals court rejected [JURIST report] a final appeal by Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, an Islamist party official convicted of war crimes during the 1971 Liberation war, upholding his death sentence. Kamaruzzaman was executed later that month [JURIST report]. In February the ICTB convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] Abdul Jabbar, a militia leader and former lawmaker, to life in prison for genocide and religious persecution committed during the 1971 Liberation War. Earlier that month the tribunal convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] Islamist leader Adbus Subhan to death. In December 2014 the ICTB sentenced [JURIST report] the former Bangladeshi Junior Minister to death for genocide and crimes against humanity.