Bangladesh Islamic leader dies awaiting war crimes trial News
Bangladesh Islamic leader dies awaiting war crimes trial
Photo source or description

[JURIST] Jamaat-e-Islami party (JI) [party website, in Bengali] leader AKM Yusuf [official website, in Bengali], died at age 87 on Sunday of cardiac arrest. Bangladeshi authorities arrested [JURIST report] Yusuf in May on 13 charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. Yusuf became ill while in jail, where we was detained while facing the war crimes charges, which included genocide, arson and rape. The International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICTB) [JURIST news archive] had been scheduled to begin Yusuf’s trial on February 12. His defense counsel had previously sought bail due to the man’s old age, and now claim that the jail should have provided better treatment.

Prosecutors allege that Yusuf helped to train 96 Islamic party activists [bdnews24 report] for the paramilitary group known as the “Razakars.” The militia group reportedly collaborated with the Pakistani junta during the 1971 war to suppress Hindu dissent. The prosecution claims to have uncovered evidence establishing that Yusuf lead the Razakars in killing approximately 700 people. In addition, reports suggest that Yusuf directed military forces to loot and burn more than 300 homes and 400 stores, and to forcibly convert approximately 200 Hindus. Prosecutors filed charges against Yusuf in the International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICTB) in April.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.