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Bangladesh Jamaat calls 24-hour strike after apex courtupholds secretary general's death penalty

Xinhua, June 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has called a 24-hour national strike after the country's apex court Tuesday morning upheld the death penalty for its Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed for killing intellectuals during Liberation War in 1971.

The countrywide shutdown will be enforced from Wednesday 6:00 a. m. local time.

In a statement hours after the apex court verdict, Jamaat also termed the war crimes case against Mojaheed "false."

Jamaat pleaded Mojaheed's innocence and demanded his immediate release.

A four-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) bench headed by Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha delivered the verdict on Tuesday morning upholding the death penalty against the 67-year old Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party leader.

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT)-2 in August 2013 awarded death sentence to the Bangladesh Jamaat leader Mojaheed, who is now behind the bar.

Mojaheed lodged his appeal with the SC on Aug. 11 the same year, seeking acquittal of all the charges against him.

Defense lawyer said they will file a review petition with the SC. Endi