Bangladesh authorities on Wednesday executed Motiur Rahman Nizami for war crimes during the the 1971 war of independence. Nizami [Daily Star report], a leader of the banned Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami [JURIST report], was convicted for war crimes including rape and genocide and is the fifth JI leader to be executed. Party leaders claim [Al Jazeera report] that the execution is an attempt to remove the Islamic religion from the region and have called on their followers to strike as a sign of opposition to the hanging. There has been international criticism [Daily Sabah report] the Bangladesh tribunals, even though the country claims they are necessary [NDTV report] for the healing process to continue. The parliament of Pakistan has officially condemned [RADIO report] the hanging of Nizami, stating the execution was against justice and human rights.

Last week the International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICTB) [official website] sentenced [JURIST report] four men to death for crimes against humanity committed during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. The ICTB, established in 2009 under the International Crimes Act [text], is charged with investigating and prosecuting war crimes committed during the 1971 conflict. Rights groups such as Amnesty International [advocacy website] have criticized [JURIST report] death sentences imposed by the ICTB, stating that trials of war criminals have, in the past, “failed to meet international standards.” In March the Supreme Court of Bangladesh upheld [JURIST report] the death sentence of a former opposition politician for allegedly committing war crimes during the 1971 war of independence. In February the ICTB sentenced [JURIST report] two men to death for crimes against humanity committed during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. Last 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.